


Falling for the Perfect Ten

by xfirespritex



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 03:41:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17717381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xfirespritex/pseuds/xfirespritex
Summary: Told from the point of view of an original female character we follow the ups and downs of dating, and falling in love with, Tye Dillinger. Originally a Tumblr post. Hope you enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1: A Birthday Party

My alarm rang at 6 AM and I turned it off quickly, sliding out of bed and forcing myself out of my comfortable over-sized shirt and into the workout clothes I’d laid out the night before. It was Friday and now pretty much everyone from both the main roster and NXT was back in Florida. I was thrilled because, even though I’d wished her a happy birthday on Monday, Becky was back in Florida and tonight, after training, we’d all be going out to celebrate properly.

Grabbing my bag and gear I left my small apartment and jumped in my car, heading to the performance center to train with a few of the NXT girls. When I got there I spotted Liv and Ember in my rear view mirror, pulling in right behind me. Aside from our cars there were only a few other cars in the lot. The big truck I recognized as Matt Blooms’ and the rest were unknown to me.

“What’s up girly?” Liv said as she walked over and looped arms with me.

“Nothing, you’re bright and chipper this morning,” I commented.

“That’s cause she’s ready to go out tonight and blow off some steam,” Ember said, laughing and she joined us. The three of us walked in together and immediately headed for the machines.

We all stared on cardio, we always did. Liv and Ember always said they liked to get it out of the way, I always felt that it warmed me up properly. As I ran on the treadmill with music blaring from my headphones, drowning out the sound of my feet on the treadmill and the machines around me I just kept running.

Ember and Liv, though in great shape, finished their cardio portion sooner than me and moved on to strength training. I ran for maybe thirty minutes longer than them before stopping the treadmill and taking a long drink from my water bottle.

By now more and more wrestlers were showing up, the guys starting on their strength training first. I smiled as the guys filed in and saw the three of us there already. “What, do you girls get up with the sun?” Johnny Gargano asked as he walked by. I laughed and tossed a towel at him.

“We like to finish our workouts early and move on with our day,” I responded. He rolled his eyes and with Tommaso Ciampa, they went to one of the leg press stations.

I joined Ember and Liv at the hanging leg raise. I jumped up, ignoring the laughter from the other two as I was shorter than both of them, and neither were tall. As I did my workout I watched the door occasionally and nearly lost my grip when Tye Dillinger walked in.

Scolding myself internally I averted my eyes and kept moving. Liv and Ember both looked and then rolled their eyes, both of them knowing all too well about my crush on Tye.

When my set was done I forfeited the space to Liv and took my earbuds out. Ember came to stand next to me, making sure her back was to the rest of the room. “Are you ever going to make a move on the man?” she asked.

I laughed. “You’ve known me long enough to know that answer,” I responded.

Ember sighed and shook her head. “I don’t get,” she said. “He’s sweet to you, all the time. What makes you think you don’t have a chance?”

I shrugged. “He’s gonna be up on the main roster soon anyway, even if it was possible…why start something when he’ll be gone so soon?”

“You know the Rumble entry wasn’t his call up, right?” Ember said, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Yes, I know that,” I said.

“So what makes you so sure he’ll be called up?”

“What makes you so sure that if he isn’t I have a chance? You’ve seen the girls that flock around him, Tye and I are friends and I’m okay with that. It’s just a crush, it’ll fade.”

Liv dropped down from the bar and crouched next to us. “Crushes fade over time,” she said.

And my feelings hadn’t.

I shrugged and moved on in our workout, each of us finishing up around roughly the same time.

“You headed home?” Liv asked. I shrugged and looked around the gym, deciding I wanted to run a few more drills.

“Drills?” Liv said.

“Yeah, just for about an hour, clear my head a bit more,” I said.

“Whatever floats your boat,” Ember said.

“You’re driving tonight, right?” Liv asked.

I laughed. “Don’t I always?”

Liv smiled brightly at me. “I love you, you know that?”

“Do you love me or do you love that I don’t drink?”

“Both,” Liv said, smiling hugely and kissing my cheek. Ember laughed and hugged me.

“Don’t go too hard on the drills,” she advised. “We’ve got dancing to do tonight.”

I nodded and waved to them as they left, heading into the area of the gym with all of the rings. I picked an empty one and started my drills, focusing on each move carefully, making sure I got at least twenty of each perfect before taking a breather.

“You look good in there,” a voice said.

I jumped and spun to see Tye on the ring apron, leaning on the ropes I hadn’t been running on and smiling at me.

“Hey Tye,” I said, smiling as my stomach did somersaults.

He smiled and climbed into the ring. “You’re going pretty hard in here today, any reason?”

I shrugged and ran a hand through my hair, tugging out my ponytail holder and redoing the tail. “There’s always room to improve,” I said.

Tye nodded and smiled down at me. “Wanna grapple a bit? All the guys are going full out on the weights today and I wanted a bit of a tumble today before going home.”

I nodded, feeling my throat go dry. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d grappled with Tye but the thought of him so close to me always made my body react in funny ways.

He smiled at me and put his stuff aside, fixing his own hair before meeting me in the center of the ring. We locked up and he quickly moved me to a side head lock before slinging me into the ropes. We continued this back and forth a bit, each of us going for different holds until Tye tossed me into the corner. He stood in the middle of the ring for a second before coming at me, like he was going to hit a move but he stopped less than a foot from me and smiled. I knew that was his way of calling off the grappling, he’d have hit any mood and if this had been a real match after that move he could’ve rolled me up for the win.

I smiled back at him and made to move out of the corner but Tye lunged at me, putting his arms on either side of my head on the ropes, putting me back in the corner. We didn’t make contact but our faces were mere inches apart.

“If I’d gone for a move, what would you have done?” Tye asked.

“Get my boot up,” I said.

Tye smiled down at me, his breath coming out of him a little roughly and I didn’t realize mine had kicked up too. “I’m glad that the only moves later will be dance moves,” he said, smiling at me and reaching one hand to brush hair from my forehead.

I barely repressed a shiver. I laughed instead. “Yeah, you gonna dance tonight, Tye?”

He smiled down at me. “Only if you save me a dance,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat.

“I’ll do that,” I said. Tye smiled, leaned in and kissed my cheek before backing away.

“See you later then?” he said, his smile growing.

I nodded. “See you later,” I stated.

He left the ring and waved to me as he left the gym. I was grateful that everyone around us had been occupied with their own workouts. I dropped to the mat and rolled out, grabbing my things before going to the locker room and getting my bag.

When I got home I saw I’d missed a call from Becky so as I walked through my apartment to the bathroom I called her back.

“Hey!” Becky said as she answered the phone.

“You rang?” I said, smiling as I turned on the shower.

“Yeah, was thinking you wanna get ready at my place tonight?” Becky said.

I sighed. “You and the rest of the girls just wanna place dress up with me, don’t you?”

Becky laughed into the phone. “Come on, we’re all getting ready here, it’ll make it easier than you driving everywhere to pick everyone up.”

“I like how you avoided the question,” I said as took my hair down.

“Aw, come on, we promise not to go overboard.”

“Okay, fine, consider this your birthday present,” I said, sighing. “But I’m bringing my own clothes!”

“You can bring ‘em but I can’t guarantee you’ll wear them out tonight,” she crowed as she hung up. I sighed and put my phone on the bathroom counter and stripped down, getting into the shower.  It was three in the afternoon and I had a few hours to shower and find my best outfit before going over to Becky’s house. Letting the water hit my back I resigned myself to my fate.

If it was just dinner tonight it wouldn’t be a problem but the fact that we’d be doing dinner and dancing, I knew I’d be in trouble outfit wise. Between Becky and Liv I was already pretty much screwed but depending who else was there I was definitely going to be in trouble.

\--

When I got to Becky’s my hair was already blow dried but that was all I had done to my appearance, knowing full well that whoever was inside would want to do something with my hair and makeup on top of forcing me into whatever outfit they seemed suitable. In the bag I had with me, aside from my clutch purse and keys, I had tight pants and an emerald green halter top, an outfit I thought was sexy enough with my highest black heels that I’d shoved into the bag as well. Still, when Becky opened the door and her hair was curled and done up and she had just a robe on I knew I was screwed.

“Come on, let’s go,” she said smiling as she tugged me inside.

I followed her to her bedroom and saw Liv and Ember there as well as Alicia Fox and Carmella.

Doomed.

I sighed and dropped my bag to the ground and all the girls turned to smile at me, their smiles reminding me of sharks. “Just promise me one thing?” I said before they could swarm.

“What’s that?” Carmella said, idling twirling a strand of hair around her finger, as if she was innocent.

“Can I please at least wear the shoes I brought?”

Alicia dug in my bag and pulled them out and nodded approvingly. “Okay, but the rest of this is a no-no,” she deemed, dropping my bag back to the ground. I sighed and walked over to Becky’s bed and sat down.

“Don’t make me look like a hooker, at least,” I said.

Liv smiled down at me. “I’ve got just the dress for you.”

“Don’t you mean just the dress for Tye?” Becky said, laughing.

Everyone broke out laughing except me. “Is that still going on?” Carmella said.

I sighed.

“Honey, we’re going to dress you up so well that Tye is gonna have to fight for your attention tonight,” Carmella promised.

I shrugged and the girls went to work, discussing my hair and makeup while Liv went and got the dress she wanted me to wear. It was a right fitting, emerald green choker dress, a crisscross over the chest connecting to the fabric at the neck. The dress was form fitting and looked to have a built in bustier. My jaw fell open when I looked at it.

“You’re insane,” I said.

“You promised,” Becky countered.

Sometimes, having only brothers and not being the most feminine in the group sucked. I’d automatically become the other female wrestlers living equivalent of a Barbie doll.

“Just try it on,” Becky coaxed.

“Tye won’t know what hit him,” Carmella said, waggling her eyebrows at me.

I thought of Tye, of how badly I wanted him to see me, to be drawn to me like I was to him. I looked at the dress and realized that if it didn’t get Tye’s attention at least I’d look good next to the other girls.

 I shrugged and stood up, taking the dress from Liv and stalking into the bathroom to try it on.

\--

“Shanna Hyde, as I live and breathe,” came the voice of Colin Cassidy as all of us girls walked out into Becky’s living room. Enzo Amore and Cass were there too, riding with Carmella, Liv and Alicia to the restaurant and the club.

I tugged at the hem of the dress and Carmella hit my arm lightly, laughing at how uncomfortable I was under her boyfriend’s gaze.

“Damn, you look like that all the time or just on Friday nights?” Enzo said. Liv laughed and walked over to him as Carmella did the same to Cass. The girls kissed their boyfriends as Alicia threw an arm around me. “She cleans up nice, right?”

I rolled my eyes and turned to Becky and Ember who just smiled and came into the room. We all grabbed our coats, glad that it wasn’t too cold out yet. Piling into our cars we all left Becky’s place, going to meet up with everyone at the restaurant.

Jimmy, Jey and Naomi were in the restaurant lobby as was Gargano, Ciampa, Bayley and her fiancé Aaron, Alexa and Buddy Murphy and lastly Tye.

Jey Uso whistled low and Jimmy did a double take. Naomi laughed at her husband’s overly dramatic reaction but it was his reaction that made Tye turn around to greet our group as we walked in.

His eyes scanned over me from head to toe and I shifted uncomfortably. Becky leaned in and whispered in my ear, “If this were a cartoon his jaw would be on the floor and his eyes would be the size of his body.”

I laughed and pushed her away, towards the group so she could say hi to everyone.

I walked over and smiled at Tye. “Hi,” I said, feeling my throat tighten a little around the word.

“Hi,” Tye said, his lips forming a smirk that made my knees weak. “You look amazing,” he said, stepping back to look at me.

I blushed and he laughed. “You’re not so bad yourself,” I said, noting his dark pants, suit jacket and button up shirt that was nicely tight across his chest. He smirked down at me.

All of us walked into the back area of the restaurant together and I watched suspiciously as everyone quickly found seats, leaving two open next to each other for me and Tye. Tye took a few quick steps ahead and pulled my chair out for me. I smiled up at him and sat as he pushed the chair in for me. He sat next to me and smiled brightly before turning to look at Becky who sat at the head of the table next to us.

“So, birthday girl,” Tye started. “What the agenda for tonight?”

“Celebrate turning the big 3-0, go big, have fun dancing our asses off and be thankful we don’t need to fly out until Monday,” Becky said, laughing as she looked over the wine list.

The waiters came over soon the table was filled with drinks, appetizers and food. All of us sat around talking and laughing and I found myself feeling comfortable, despite the outfit. With Tommaso on my other side from Tye I felt safe, they both looked at my face rather than my more obvious than usual chest and when a chill hit our area of the restaurant Tye immediately put his jacket over my shoulders.

His scent on the coat made my breath catch in my throat, the warmth and the smell coming from the fabric tricking my mind into thinking that this would be what it’d be like to be held by Tye. Tommaso objected, saying he wanted to be the gentleman and he fake challenged Tye to duel in my honor and I just laughed, rolling my eyes at Bayley who sat across from me at the table. She smirked and winked, her eyes drifting to Tye quickly before anyone else could see.

I rolled my eyes but pulled the jacket closer around me.

\--

We all finished dinner, ending with a sparking cake for Becky before heading out to the club which was directly down the street from the restaurant, the reason Becky had chosen these locations.

When we got to the club we all showed our IDs and paid the cover fee, the girls getting in at a discounted price to the guys which drew a comment about sexism from Enzo who was quickly silenced by Liv as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the club, making a beeline for the VIP area we’d reserved.

We put our things down and collapsed into the booth and chairs, I slid in next to Bayley who smiled hugely at me. “You look great,” she shouted over the music.

“So do you!” I shouted back, smiling at her.

“Tye can’t keep his eyes off you!” She shouted. I made a hurried shushing motion as Tye walked over at that very second to sit in one of the chairs on the other side of the booth’s table. Aaron laughed and pulled Bayley into him. Liv, Enzo, Carmella and Cass had already disappeared onto the dance floor and soon everyone was moving that way. I got up and allowed Bayley and Aaron to escape into the crowd and when Jey spotted a girl he wanted to dance with it left me and Tye alone.

I looked at him from my seat and smiled at him. “So, looks like you’re stuck with me,” he said.

The song changed and I recognized the beat and I smiled back to him. For some reason I felt brave in that instant so I stood, holding my hand out to him. He looked at my hand then up at me, a question in his eyes.

My bravery faltered a bit as I tried to say over the music, “Looks like I’ve saved all my dances for you.”

Tye, getting the joke from early put his hand in mine and stood, pulling me close to him before releasing my hand as he shed his suit jacket, leaving only the tight button up on.  He leaned down and shouted into my ear, the music so loud it sounded still like a whisper, “You’re the only one I want to dance with anyway.”

I felt myself go red as he took my hand again and pulled me to the dancefloor, right next to Becky who was dancing with Tommaso, both having fun without being too close. She got an excited look on her face as she saw Tye pull me close to him and I rolled my eyes. Tommaso noticed too and the pair high fived. Both of their significant others couldn’t make it tonight and I knew they’d long agreed to stick together. Seeing me and Tye had to be the highlight for them.

Tye wrapped his left arm around my waist and used his right hand to turn my face towards his. His right hand slide from my chin to my cheek and held my gaze for a moment as we stared to dance. I could feel my hips sway to the music and I tried to just dance and not to be hyper aware of Tye but it was impossible.

We were close together, the crowd pushing us close and Tye’s left arm keeping me tightly to him. I shivered at the sensation of my hips brushing against Tye’s as we danced. He kept his grip on me and I looped an arm around his shoulders, letting my nails slide over the back of his neck and into his hair lightly.

The song changed smoothly and I smiled, glad to know not only the beat but the words to this one. I rolled my body against Tye to the beat of the song and I watched his face shift slightly from a sweet smile to a slightly more focused look on his face. He took my hand and spun me, pulling me back against him so every inch of his chest was pressed against my back. His arms came securely around me, settling on my waist and hips to keep me close to him.

His breath ghosted over the back of my neck and I could feel his lips moving against the skin of my neck, just below my ear. I realized he was mouthing the words to the song and I leaned back against him, letting my head fall back to his right shoulder and wrapping my arms up around his neck. I felt more than heard the groan that got from Tye and realized, that given our angles and the low cut emerald choker dress Liv had put me in Tye had just been given a very nice view of my chest.

His right hand gripped my hip and I bit my lip. My mind wandered as we danced, I could feel every inch of him and it was as amazing as I thought it would be. I was thankful that while dancing he couldn’t decipher the shivers from my hips rolling back against him, it’d have been far too obvious how turned on I was otherwise.

We danced like that for a while until Tye turned me back around to face him. He put his forehead on mine and I smiled up at him. My chest was pressed against his, the hand that had been wrapped low around my waist coming up to the middle of my back to press me to him.  I let my hands wander from around his neck to down his arms, pushing on them slightly so he’d have to pull me closer.

His body moved with mine easily, neither of us was really leading, we were just following one another, chasing each other’s movements. His forehead came back to rest on mine and I caught by breath, my eyes immediately going to his lips. Hopeful. “Want some water?” he asked. I couldn’t hear it but I’d been so focused on his lips that I’d been able to read them.

I nodded, feeling slight disappointment but then he took my hand, lacing our fingers together and leading me to the bar. He ordered two waters and paid the bartender, his hand never leaving my own. We went back to the VIP area and Tye sat down, on the edge of the circular booth putting his water bottle on the table. He reached up and grabbed me by my hips and pulled me down onto his lap. The feeling of closeness made me shiver and I shifted so I wouldn’t need to lean into him too much for balance.

Trying to be casual I opened my bottle of water and took a sip. Tye watched and when I looked down at him he had just finished licking his lips, the sight of it sending a shiver I couldn’t hide through me. He smirked and opened his own water, taking a long drink before settling his arms around me again.

“So,” Tye said, an attempt to break the silence.

“So?” I responded, lamely. I could feel how tight my throat was and I quickly took another sip of water. The warmth of sturdiness of Tye underneath me was taking my body down a path that I wouldn’t be able to hide much longer. I knew I was breathing quickly, more from being turned on than the dancing and I was sure my pupils were dilated as well as a wetness beginning to pool in my core, threatening to expose me at any moment.

“Are you going to tell me why all night everyone has been looking at us and why Becky and Tommaso nearly had a fit when we started dancing together?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask them” I said, feeling my skin heat up as I looked around the dance club, pretending to be looking for our friends rather than anywhere but him.

Tye’s left arm was around my waist again, keeping me in his lap and his right hand, just as he’d done on the dance floor, turned my head to face his. I looked down from my slight height advantage into his eyes and waited.

He stretched his neck out, putting his lips to my ear and speaking just loudly enough so I could hear him. “I thought it was because they all know I’ve wanted you since the day I met you.”

My heart stopped and all sound retreated from the world around me.

“What?” I asked, pulling back and looking down at him.

“You’re gonna make me say it again?” he said, his eyes half hopeful and half horrified.

“Outside, now,” I said standing up and taking his hand. I was shaking and I knew he felt it but I had to get to where I could actually hear him, where I could think.

The bouncer at the door that lead outside from the VIP lounge stamped our hands so we could get back in and once outside I turned to face Tye, wrapping my arms around myself as the night air felt cold compared to the inside of club.

“You’re gonna have to run that by me one more time,” I said, staring at him. My hands were shaking and I felt weak. “Cause either I’m dreaming or this is a prank.”

“It’s not a prank. Though it’s nice to hear I’m in your dreams sometimes,” Tye said, a smile returning to his lips as he stepped close to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. The warmth from his skin seeped into mine and I sighed at the feeling.

“Tye…what are you doing?”

“Keeping a promise and giving Becky her birthday gift all in one go,” he said.

“What?”

“Becky said that if she got you here in a green dress then I had a shot with you. She’s been on my case for months now about telling you how I felt and she made me promise, for her birthday, to tell you. I made her promise to make sure I wouldn’t be making a complete ass out of myself when I did it but that doesn’t seem to be going so well.”

I stared down at the dress the girls had insisted I wear then up at him. “The dress is a code?”

“Greenlight, or so I thought,” Tye said, shrugging and rubbing the back of his neck. It was then I realized that he was embarrassed…upset.

“Tye…” I said, taking his hands in mine.

He looked at me, his eyes looking tired all of the sudden.

“You should’ve told me sooner,” I said, stepping closer to him.

“Why is that?”

“Because, like you said, I’ve been dreaming of you,” I said, smirking up at him. My words registered on his face and the grin was back.

“Oh yeah?”

I nodded. Tye leaned down, taking my face in his hands. He brushed his lips over mine and just as I was about to lean up to kiss him properly the door to the club opened and our entire group of friends poured out.

We pulled back from each other awkwardly and my body screamed at me to go back to his warmth.

“Time to go, kids,” Enzo said, clearly a little intoxicated. Cass rolled his eyes and led his group off to the car. I looked over at Tye and sighed. “I drove the girls here,” I said.

He nodded, “I drove everyone else.”

“Talk to you later?” Tye asked.

I nodded, feeling my throat tighten.

Once in the car with Becky, Alicia and Ember I drove off to Becky’s at top speed. Alicia was crashing there and Ember’s place was on the way to mine. I got home pretty quickly and went into my apartment, feeling my eyes already stinging from the unshed, frustrated tears.

Timing was everything and I’d just missed my chance with Tye.


	2. A Proper Goodnight

 

It was an half an hour later and I’d just gotten all the makeup off my face, my eyes red from the tears that had fallen, when my phone rang and vibrated, buzzing on the bathroom counter next to me.

Tye’s picture appeared on my screen and I picked up my phone, accepting the call.

“Tye?” I said, feeling shaky as I leaned against the counter.

“I’m sorry we got interrupted,” he said.

“Me too,” I breathed, feeling relieved. He had wanted the kiss too.

“Is it…is it inappropriate if I come over? I just dropped the last of my group off.”

I paused, biting my lip before looking in the mirror at myself. The makeup was gone but the dress, the dress that had apparently given Tye the signal he needed to tell me how he felt, was still on and my hair still looked good despite the dancing that we’d done. I nodded to myself before speaking.

“Yeah, come over.”

“Be there in ten.”

\--

He was there in five.

The light knock on my door nearly made me jump out of my skin as I’d been pacing right in front of it. I looked through the peep hole and saw Tye’s face.

I unlocked the door quickly and stepped aside as I pulled it open. Tye came in and I closed the door behind him and locked it before turning to face him.

“Fuck it,” he mumbled as he took a few steps towards me, capturing my face between his hands and bringing my face up to his as he kissed me hard, pressing me into my front door.

I groaned into the kiss, immediately wrapping my arms around him and kissing back, not taking long to allow his tongue entry into my mouth which brought a particularly embarrassing sound from the back of my throat.

His hands slid from my face down to my hips and I thought I could feel them shaking slightly as he moved. Without breaking the kiss I dug my fingers into his hair and pulled him closer, needing to feel more of him as I lifted one leg to wrap around him. He groaned at the movement and moved from kissing my mouth to my cheek, dragging his lips down my neck and resting on my collar bone. I whimpered, feeling my body react at hyper speed to his touch.

“Tye,” I whimpered as he nipped at my left collarbone before switching to my right. He mumbled into my skin and I laughed, delirious with the sensations of what was happening. He kissed back up to my lips and captured them, biting on my lower lip teasingly.

I nibbled back moving my own lips over to his ear and biting lightly there, enjoying the shiver it sent through him. His lips found my neck and I couldn’t help but whimper again, my voice cracking as I spoke.

“Tye, we don’t need to make out against the wall,” I said, laughing slightly.

He bit my collarbone lightly before pulling back to look at me, resting his forehead on mine. “I’m afraid that if I move away I’ll wake up and it will be another dream,” he said, his voice a combination of excitement, desire and a bit of fear.

“You said earlier I’m not dreaming so I don’t think you are either,” I said, my hands resting on his shoulders.

He nodded and stepped back from me, taking my hands in his. We walked over to my couch and sat down beside each other. The mood had changed. The electricity, the tension, was still there but we both knew we had to talk a little first, before anything got out of hand.

 He kept my hands in his and I settled myself closer to him on the couch than I normally would have. Not in his lap but close enough that I could be there if I so chose.

“So,” he said, his eyes on my hands. “This is the part where we have the awkward conversation of what each of us want out of this while trying to keep our hormones in check.”

I laughed lightly and nodded. “Yep, probably best to get that handled and under control before the hormones take over.”

Tye dramatically threw his head back as if in pain and grunted. He stayed like that for a moment and I bit my lip, fear wrapping around me. What if we didn’t want the same things?

The thought hadn’t occurred to me, I’d been too caught up in the feeling of Tye.

Now, what if he wanted the opposite? Something casual? I didn’t do casual.

Tye lifted his head to face me again and I saw concern there too.

“Is it a dick move if I say ladies first?” Tye said, a small, self-deprecating grin on his face.  “I’m not sure what to say here,” he admitted.

I sighed, my fears taking a hold on me. If he wanted me to go first it meant he was gaging what I wanted and would counter with how much he was willing to give me, so he could take what he wanted and go after.

I pulled my hands from his and I saw his eyes widen but I folded them into my lap and focused on them, afraid to look him in the eye. “I…I don’t do casual things Tye. If I did I’m sure my life in NXT would’ve been easier but I just don’t. If you want something like that, a physical thing only…I need you to leave now. Because as much as I want you right now, want that right now, I’d hate myself tomorrow.”

I finished my ramble and looked away from him, practically turning my head around completely so I could look at the opposite wall to the windows, grateful that the curtains were closed over them. This was private.

“Oh thank God,” Tye said, breathing out in a huff, a small laugh escaping him.

“What?” I said turning to him.

“I’ve done the casual thing. It’s fun for a while but, I mean, I’m not getting younger.”

I stared at him and the look on my face must have been funny because he smiled widely before reaching out to cup my cheek with his hand.

“If I’d wanted casual I could go with any fangirl, I could find women trying to break into the business and take advantage of that. I don’t want that. I don’t want someone I see only on weekends or random nights when we both need to get off. I want someone I can be with. Spend my days off with, someone I can call mine. If that’s what you mean you want when you say you don’t want casual I think we’ll be fine,” he said, his smiling widening slightly, hopefully.

I felt something snap inside me, all the emotions I’d kept inside bursting free.

I wasn’t a hookup. I was something…someone that Tye wanted.

“You sure that you want all that with me?” I asked, trying to clarify, trying to be sure before I lost what little control left in me.

“I’ve wanted you since you got here. Since Becky introduced us. I didn’t want to scare you off at the start, didn’t want you to think I was trying to take advantage. Why do you think I always found dumb reasons to be around you? Why I always invited you for to hang out with whoever I was with? I wanted to see you, I just needed an excuse.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Do you know how many nights I’d dream about you? How I’d wake up miserable that you weren’t actually there? Do you know what it’s like to talk to Becky like a lovesick schoolboy about how much I want you? Do you know what it’s like to be so aware of someone you can’t move for a second when you see them?”

I could feel my eyes watering and I wiped at them hastily. “I almost fell on the leg raise bar today when you walked in,” I admitted, laughing slightly. “Last week I nearly fell off the treadmill when you walked in and winked at me as you passed. You’re dangerous to work out around.”

Tye laughed. “Sounds like when I nearly dropped the weight on Garagano’s foot a few months ago.”

I laughed and leaned forward, into him, resting my head on his chest. He sighed and wrapped his arms around me protectively. He toed his shoes off and leaned back on the arm of my couch, pulling me down on top of him so I was laying across him. I kicked my heeled shoes up so they wouldn’t tear the fabric of the couch and looked at him, my chin resting on his chest.

“See, this is all I wanted, for months,” he said quietly, brushing hair from my eyes.

I smiled, my heart close to bursting open. “Me too,” I said.

“I mean,” Tye said, smirking slightly. “Making out and everything else is amazing, better than I pictured, but if I get to hold you like this I’m okay with that too. I’m not going to push.”

“Aw damn,” I said, smirking up at him. “Here I was hoping you’d push.”

Tye’s demeanor changed immediately. His eyes, already dark brown and gorgeous, somehow got darker. I felt my skin begin to tingle at the look he gave me.

“Wait, are you being serious?” he asked, his hands on my back tightening slightly.

I shrugged one shoulder and looked up at him. “We’re adults Tye, I’m happy to wait but just as happy to not wait as long as I know you’ll be here tomorrow.”

He shifted his arms and pulled me up closer to him so our faces were lined up. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said, his voice low and full of promise.

I smiled at him, feeling my heart beat faster. “Then…would you mind staying here? Holding me tonight so I wake up and see you here?”

He smiled and brushed his lips over mine.

“I will do anything you want. I’ve waited months to just have you in my arms, I can wait for the rest.”

I breathed a sigh of relief I hadn’t been aware I was holding. As much as I wanted Tye I had to be sure this wasn’t some quick thing. I believed his words but I had to see his actions first.

He smiled up at me and ran a hand through my hair, marveling at it for a moment.

“What?” I asked.

He chuckled lightly. “Never thought I’d fall for a red head,” he said, smiling at me. I smiled back, sitting up on top of him a little so that I was unintentionally straddling him before I slid off the couch and stood, reaching my hand out to him.

“Yeah? I never thought I’d fall for a guy who called _himself_ a perfect 10.”

Tye laughed and put his hand in my, standing next to me.

“Do you want anything? I asked, motioning to the kitchen.

Tye shrugged. “Water would be good,” he said, smiling at me. I nodded and went to the fridge, grabbing each of us a water bottle before walking back to him.

“You’ve never been in my place, have you? Beyond the front door, I mean?”

Tye nodded. “Yeah, never saw beyond this area,” he said motioning to the living room and small eat in kitchen, the island counter and stools serving as the eating area.

I smiled. “Time for the not-so-grand grand tour,” I said leading down the hallway. I pointed out the bathroom and my tiny spare room where I had bookshelves, a desk, my computer closed on top of the desk and my yoga mat laid out nearby before walking to my bedroom door and opening it.

Tye looked down at me and smiled before stepping in to the room ahead of me, taking in my room layout. It was simple, a basic dresser, a chair in the corner, a queen bed and two nightstands. Nothing special except for the pictures on the wall which Tye went to look at. I set my water on my nightstand and turned to watch him as he gazed at each photo.

“I remember this,” he said, pointing to one. I walked over and looked at the one he’d pointed out. Me, Becky, Bayley, Aaron and Tye were lined up at a table in NXT catering, me in my official NXT track suit while the others wore their own comfortable workout clothes.

“That was during my first week there,” I said, smiling. “I thought the tracksuits were a requirement,” I admitted, laughing to myself.

Tye smiled at the photo, wrapping an arm around me. “That was the day I met you,” he said. I smiled up at him.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” I said, my eyes going to the photo.

“It’s been nearly a year,” he said.

“You’re right…” I realized, in awe of how quickly that time had gone. Tye leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I turned back to him and saw some of the heat back in his eyes.

“So, we should probably get some rest, I’m sorry you don’t have anything of your own here…” I said, awkwardly.

Tye laughed. “I thought I did have something of mine here,” he said, putting his forehead to mine and stealing a quick kiss.

I smiled, a thrill shooting through me. “I could get used to that idea,” I said as he scooped me up in his arms and walked me over to my bed, gently setting me down on the mattress.

I laughed and looked up at him, his eyes on mine as he kneeled before me, our eyes nearly level given his height and my lack of height. “Don’t your feet hurt in those things?” Tye asked, motioning to my heels.

I shrugged. “They’re not so bad, I’m kind of used to them now,” I said, going to unbuckle the ankle strap on one. Tye turned his attention to the other ankle strap and undid it for me and I felt a shiver go up my body at his touch on my leg. He smirked up at me and I threw him what I hoped was an “oh please” kind of look. Putting my heels aside I stood, stepping around Tye as he stood up, and went to my dresser, grabbing a hair clip off of it and putting my hair up, turning to see the zipper of the dress in the mirror.

Tye walked over to stand behind me and his hands rested on my shoulder and the zip of the dress. “Need help with that? I’ll never understand how you women dress yourselves in these things,” he said, trying to laugh off the deep sound of his voice. I shivered and nodded silently at him.

He tugged the zipper down to the small of my back and I heard him breathe in slightly when he realized I had no bra on underneath, the built in bustier of the dress having been enough for the night. I reached behind myself carefully and undid the clasp that connected the choker part of the dress and held the top half close to my body.

Tye turned his back to me, sensing my thoughts and he walked over to look at the pictures again. I smiled to myself and carefully stepped out of the borrowed dress before opening my drawers and finding a t-shirt and a pair of shorts to sleep in. I smiled when I found the shirt I wanted and tugged it on before the shorts. With the dress draped over my left arm I walked over and placed a hand on Tye’s shoulder.

He turned slowly and looked down at me, a laughing coming to his lips.

I had one of his shirts on, the Perfect 10 symbol splayed across my chest.

“Well I’m not gonna complain at your choice of pajamas,” he said, laughing.

“What about you? Do you want sweat pants? I tend to buy guys ones cause they have pockets, don’t know if they’d fit but…” I trailed off awkwardly. Tye shrugged.

“If you don’t mind I usually just sleep in my boxers.”

I swallowed in what I hoped wasn’t an obvious way and nodded up at him. “However you’re comfortable,” I said smiling up at him. I went on my toes and kissed his cheek really quick before going over to my closet and pulling out an empty hanger, putting Liv’s dress on it carefully and hanging it inside before shutting the door. When I turned back Tye was undoing the belt of his pants and, trying to give him the same respect he gave me, I turned and went to my dresser, keeping my eyes on the wood as I took my earrings out and placed them in my jewelry box.

Tye smiled and came behind me, his shirt gone too now he stood in only his boxers and I nearly groaned at the sight in my mirror. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him, the heat of his body radiating through my t-shirt and to my skin. I let out a small whimper.

I could feel the laugh in his chest. “What?” he asked. “I wrestle in less than this,” he said smiling at me via the mirror.

“Yes, but I don’t get to be wrapped in your arms when you’re dressed like that,” I said.

“True,” he agreed. I turned in his arms and kissed him, reveling in the feeling of his lips on mine. There was still desire in the kiss but it wasn’t as desperate as before, there was a steadiness there, like now that we’d talked a bit everything wasn’t his last chance to do it.

I pulled back from the kiss and walked over to the bed, climbing in on my side. Tye smiled and walked around the bed, to the other side and slid in, his water and phone already set there like it was their usual spot. I turned on my side to look at him and he did the same.

“So, what do you want for breakfast?” I asked.

Tye smirked at me, sliding closer and stealing a kiss. “You,” he said smiling.

I laughed. “No seriously, what’s your favorite breakfast?” I asked.

Tye shrugged. “French toast is always a winner,” he said.

“Ohhh,” I agreed, thinking of my favorite meal. “We’d have to work out a lot tomorrow afternoon to get those calories off,” I said.

Tye draped an arm over me and pulled me to him so that I was nestled in the crook of his arm. “French toast with you in the morning is worth any amount of time on a treadmill or on a machine.”

I smiled against his chest and threw an arm over his stomach. We laid there silently for a while before I felt him shift. “You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m just in a little bit of shock,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because tomorrow morning will be the first time in years I don’t wake up alone, and it’s the first time in nearly a year that the thought hasn’t killed me a little on the inside. Never thought you’d be interested,” he said.

“Right, because the hot veteran in the ring has to worry about getting the attention of women whereas me, the awkward rookie has to just try and keep up.”

“No one’s on your level and you know it,” Tye admonished softly. “You did the indie thing for a few years, you’re one of the few girls willing to go off the ropes and the only one I know willing to take the big bumps you took in the indies. No one did that, except maybe Becky years ago.”

I shrugged. “Just didn’t think Tye Dillinger needed a girl when he could get a woman.”

“Speaking as Tye Dillinger I can assure you, the rest were girls and you’re the only woman I needed.”

I picked my head up in the dark of my room and leaned up to kiss him. He’d anticipated it and met me halfway there, kissing me back, slowly. Both of us were tired and overwhelmed from the night. The kiss ended slowly and when we pulled apart I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

“Goodnight Shanna,” he said.

“Goodnight Tye,” I replied.

We were asleep moments later.


	3. Breakfast and Breaking Ground

**Breakfast and Breaking Ground**

The next morning I woke up and felt the warmth of Tye behind me, his arm wrapped around me, keeping me close to him. I smiled and leaned back into him, enjoying the warmth. Tye’s arm tightened around me.

“Morning,” he mumbled into the skin at the back of my neck. I shivered and rolled over to face him.

“Morning,” I said, smiling at him. He blinked a few times and reached out, resting his hand on my cheek before running his fingers into my hair.

“You’re really here,” he said, his voice soft.

I giggled and shifted closer to him. “Well you are in my bed after all,” I teased. He smiled at me and pulled me to him, stealing a quick kiss.

“What did you want to do today?” he asked.

“Breakfast first,” I said, smiling and rolling away from him and out of bed.

“Hey, come back here,” he groaned.

I looked back at him and smiled. “Nope, gotta make you that French toast,” I said, winking as I stepped into my slippers and left my room, bee lining to the kitchen. I found bread that had just started to go stale, the eggs I’d need and the vanilla extract and started working on the breakfast. Tye came out, just his pants from last night on, his chest still bare.

“You’re really going to make French toast?” He asked, laughing slightly.

“Yep, it’s one of my specialties. Do you want coffee?” I asked.

Tye let out a small groan and nodded. I laughed and walked over to him quickly, going on my toes to kiss his cheek. “Sit, I’ll work on breakfast and coffee.”

He did as he was told and I tried to ignore the feeling of his eyes on me as I moved around the kitchen, feeling the best I had in a long time. I knew that the man sitting at the counter behind me had everything to do with it. I’d forgotten how good it felt, to be wanted for more than just a one night stand.

I made Tye coffee and brought over the cup of black coffee, setting before him different creamers and milk as well as different sweeteners. He laughed.

“You don’t even drink coffee,” he said, laughing.

I shrugged. “All my friends do,” I said, smiling at him over my shoulder as I flipped a piece of toast in the pan.

My tea kettle let out a whistle and I grabbed it off the burner, pouring my tea for myself and turning to scoop up the creamers and sweeteners so there would be space to eat. My kitchen was organized within an inch of perfection so moving around quickly was easy. It made life simpler when your schedule could be hectic.

Turning back to the stovetop I pulled the last few pieces of toast out of the pan, put the butter and syrup on the counter space before placing a plate of toast in front of Tye and one for me. I grabbed the powdered sugar and my sifter and turned back to Tye. “Sugar?” I asked.

Tye sat back, motioning his agreement. I sifted a little sugar on to each of our stacks before putting the sugar away, the sifter in the sink and grabbing utensils from the drawer, walking around the counter and giving Tye his fork and knife as I climbed up onto the stool and sat beside him.

“Damn,” Tye said, looking from me to the food and back.

“What?” I asked, laughing as I cut into my toast.

“I didn’t expect the royal treatment this morning, didn’t do shit to earn it,” he laughed slightly, taking his own fork and knife in hand.

“Yes you did,” I said quietly, feeling my face heat up a little.

“What’d I do?” he asked.

“You stayed.”

\--

After breakfast, some making out and a quick shower so I could get the spray and other product out of my hair I pulled on my workout clothes as Tye got fully dressed again. We left, hand in hand, so we could go back to Tye’s place and he could change for working out. We both agreed we definitely couldn’t let the morning calories sit too long.

We took Tye’s SUV, leaving mine in the lot and he drove with a content smile on his face, mouthing the words along with the songs he knew on the radio. When a song came on that played last night while we’d been dancing at a red light he smirked, reached over and turned it up, winking at me.

I laughed and he smirked at me. This was one of the known longer red lights in the area. “You laughing at me enjoying the memory of this song?” he challenged.

“Oh, and what are you enjoying so much about it?” I asked.

Tye took a moment, choosing his words carefully before he spoke.

“Dancing with your body so close to mine, feeling every inch of your sexy body against mine and trying my hardest not to grab you on that dance floor and pin you to a wall,” he said.

My body stirred at his words, at how low his voice got. The light changed and I was grateful because he had to look at the road and couldn’t see me shift in my seat as my skin tingled at the memory.

Once back at this place we walked inside, and Tye looked around. “Sheriff?” He called. A small, miniature pinscher trotted over to him immediately. Tye scooped the dog up and turned to face me.

“Shanna, Sheriff. Sheriff, this is Shanna.”

 

I smiled widely and held out my hand for Sheriff to sniff. I could see his tiny tail wag and I smiled. “He’s adorable,” I cooed.

“No, he’s a badass,” Tye said. I smiled and held out my hands to take Sheriff.

Tye groaned and handed Sheriff to me. “Replaced by my dog,” he griped.

I laughed as Sheriff licked my chin and wiggled in my arms.

Tye smiled and kissed my cheek, scratching under Sheriff’s chin before he said he needed to shower too really fast before we hit the gym. It was still early morning, both of our bodies used to being up for working out so we had plenty of time.

“Does Sheriff have pee pads or does he go outside?” I asked, looking around.

“Both,” Tye said. “He’s pretty well trained and I hate leaving him locked in his crate all day and night.”

“Where’s his leash? I’ll take him out,” I said looking around.

Tye stared at me. “Already in love with my dog, huh?”

“Can you blame me?” I asked, holding Sheriff up so both of us were cheek to cheek, looking at Tye.

He laughed and took a few quick steps to me, kissing me for a moment before pulling away and rushing to the second level to shower and change. “His leash is by the front door!”

 I heard the water turn on and groaned to myself. My body screamed to be next to him, to follow him into the shower but a part of me was glad we’d waited. I needed to see more of Tye before I’d let him see all of me.

I found Sheriff’s leash on the hook and clipped it to his collar. Conveniently Tye had one of the bag dispenser things attached to the leash so I grabbed my phone and stepped outside Tye’s house, walking only a little bit away so Sheriff could do his business.

My phone buzzed and I saw Becky’s picture on my phone. I picked it up smiling to myself. “Surprised you’re up so early Lass Kicker,” I teased. “How is your hangover?” I asked.

Becky mumbled into the phone, something along the lines of shut up. I laughed.

“What’s up Beck?” I asked.

“You tell me? Did I imagine seeing you and Tye outside last night together?”

“No, you didn’t imagine it,” I said.

Becky’s voice instantly sounded more awake. “We all didn’t fuck it up, did we?”

I shrugged. “I thought you did…” I said, letting my voice trail off.

“But…” Becky prompted.

“But…Tye came over last night after he dropped everyone else off.”

“Get tha fuck outta here,” Becky said, now fully awake. “What the hell happened?”

“Well, things are good Becky. I mean…we don’t have a label on it but Tye doesn’t want to just fuck and run and he stayed over, just sleeping next to me. We had breakfast and are going to work out now.”

I heard Becky cheering as she pulled her phone slightly away from herself so she wouldn’t shout directly into my phone. “Okay, I expect a call later,” she said.

I laughed. “Maybe, if I’m still with Tye I won’t be calling anyone,” I said. Becky laughed. “Hey Beck?” I said, not wanting her to hang up in victory just yet.

“Yeah?” She said.

“You could’ve just told me what was going on, you didn’t have to get me into a damn green dress, would’ve been simpler to just tell me than torture me and Tye,” I said laughing.

“Nah, wouldn’t have been nearly as fun. Besides, a man has to make his own moves,” Becky said.

I laughed and we hung up, turning back to Tye’s house, Sheriff trotting ahead of me. As we walked in the front door Tye came down the stairs again.

“What’s up?’ he asked looking at me, his gym bag over his shoulder.

“Becky is pleased with herself this morning, despite the hangover,” I reported.

Tye laughed. “Yeah I figured she might be.” He walked around to me and wrapped his free hand around me. “Sheriff peed, no number two though.”

“Sounds like him, saving it for me later,” he said. I laughed. “Ready?” he asked.

I nodded and we left, headed to the gym.

\--

Hours later we were finishing up our workouts, Tye having signaled that he only had one more set to go with the triceps extension machine. I nodded and stepped out of the gym, leaning against the wall as I cooled off.

“You look good in there,” a deep voice said beside me.

I jumped and turned, seeing none other than Triple H taking a few final steps towards me.

I blushed bright red at how jumpy I’d been and did my best to brush it off. “Thanks, sir,” I said smiling up at him. He put a hand on my shoulder, an amused smile on his face.

“I’m impressed by you, I know you were part of the crowd that went out for Becky’s birthday and so far, you and Dillinger are the only two to drag your asses in here this morning, on a day off no less,” he said.

I smiled and shrugged, trying to pretend that it wasn’t a big deal. “The advantage of not being a partier,” I said, trying to downplay it.

“It’s not just that,” he insisted. “I’ve seen you, giving it your all and I wanted to talk to you about something. And Dillinger too,” he said, looking over my shoulder. “And here he is, headed over here anyway, perfect.”

I glanced over my shoulder at Tye who shifted his sweat towel to around his neck after wiping his right hand down and offering it to Hunter. “Hunter,” he said, smiling and grasping hands firmly.

“Dillinger, great to see you. I was just telling Shanna I wanted to talk to the two of you about something, do you two have a minute?”

I looked at Tye, feeling my stomach drop. Were we in trouble? The company was pretty strict about dating other talent and while not forbidden, it couldn’t mess up storylines or anything going on. Had Hunter heard from someone already?

Tye nodded. “I think we have time,” he looked at me and nodded, trying to be encouraging.

Hunter smiled broadly. “Great, follow me,” he said and turned. We followed him and I had the vague sensation of being in trouble in school and brought to the principal’s office.

Tye took my hand in his as we walked and gave it a quick squeeze before releasing it. He didn’t know what was coming either but he didn’t want me to feel alone even if he didn’t want to throw our brand new relationship, whatever it was, in Hunter’s face.

Once in Hunter’s office I spotted Matt Bloom sitting in one of the spare chairs. Matt stood and shook hands with me and Tye, motioning for us to sit.

“That was quick,” Matt said to Hunter.

“They were finishing their workouts,” Hunter responded.

I sat and looked between the two positioned to my left, my head nervously turning to Tye who was doing his best to remain calm.

“Well, I know this is probably sudden, especially for you Shanna,” Hunter said, smiling at me from behind his desk.

“We have an idea that’s been cooking for a while now and wanted to run it past you both,” Bloom added on, a smile on his face as he looked at Tye.

“A storyline idea?” Tye asked.

“Yeah. We wanted to know how comfortable you two felt working together on screen? We know you’re friends and we’ve seen you working out together, in the ring and out. Your dynamic is exactly what we’re looking for,” Hunter said, smiling at Tye first then at me.

“What kind of storyline?” I asked.

“Well, that’s where we want to be sure you’re both okay with it. You see, with Tye’s current storyline with SAnitY he’s outnumbered often. This week we wanted to have a couple guys come give you a hand but there’s the x factor in Nikki. Tye, you and the guys we want to give you a hand are all faces and as a rule, for both faces and heels, they don’t hit women. We want you and you team to be in a match with SAnitY and have Nikki help cost you guys the match.”

“What guys?” Tye asked.

“Jose and Roderick,” Bloom said. “They’re buddies of yours, good faces and the type of characters to lend a hand when needed.”

Tye nodded and looked at me.

“Where do I fit in? Keeping Nikki at bay, I take it?” I said, looking to Bloom and Hunter.

Hunter nodded. “Mostly, yeah. But see we wanted to add a different dynamic. SAnitY is all about, well insanity, chaos. No reason for their attacks or their words. Their only allegiance to the others is their warped minds, you get the idea of the characters,” Hunter said, leaning forward on his desk. “With Jose and Roderick, like we said, good guys to help a friend out, especially since they themselves had run-ins with SAnitY previously. But how to get you in there?” Hunter said, smiling softly at me.

“We needed a reason to pull you in. We’ve seen you and Nikki in the ring at practice and know you two can go pretty hard without having issues chemistry wise. So we thought, would either of you be uncomfortable with an on-screen relationship?”

I froze and Tye, for reasons known to him only, burst out laughing.

I stared at him, starting to see the humor given the last eighteen hours. Hunter and Bloom looked perplexed but waited until Tye smiled, his laughter under control.

“Well, I’m fine with it,” Tye said. “As long as you guys don’t get on us about our off-screen relationship,” he added, taking my hand in his.  I blushed, looking at our joined hands then back to Bloom and Hunter.

Hunter laughed lightly to himself and I could see the smile on Blooms face stretch a mile wide.

“Took you long enough, you bastard,” Bloom said tossing a pen at Tye.

I laughed in half-shock at the joke from the head coach. Hunter just laughed. “Ten years,” Hunter said, shaking a finger at Tye. “Ten years I’ve known you and it took me that long to see you so puppy dogged over a woman and then it took you nearly a year to say something to her?” he laughed.

Tye shrugged and I blushed more. Tye leaned over and kissed my temple, his hand leaving mine to go to my back and rub my shoulders.

“This would mean TV time?” I asked, trying to get back on track.

“Yes. Shanna you’re not well known on NXT TV but you’ve got your following from the indies waiting to see you. You’ve earned the time on TV and frankly,” Hunter said, trying not to laugh more, “We were hoping that if Tye hadn’t maned up by now this storyline would’ve made him.”

I stared at Hunter. “You were going to play matchmaker?” I asked.

Hunter shrugged. “It would’ve killed…what, three birds with one stone?” Hunter asked looking to Bloom.

Bloom nodded. “Even odds with SAnitY, get you on TV, give Tye a chance to speak his peace,” Bloom said, ticking each one off on his fingers. “Yeah, three,” Bloom confirmed.

Tye groaned. “You guys make me sound like a kid,” he said.

“Yeah, well now it’s two birds and still that’s good business, what do you think?” Hunter asked.

I looked at Tye who smiled at me, leaving it up to me.

“Sure,” I said, looking back to Hunter and Bloom. “Thank you for the opportunity,” I added quickly.

They smiled and nodded at us. Tye shifted like he was going to stand, shake hands and leave but Hunter held up a hand. “We’ll flesh out the plans at the taping this week but I had one more favor to ask you both,” he said.

I looked at Hunter intently. Favor?

“What is it?” Tye asked.

“How do you two feel about being on Breaking Ground this season?”

I stared at Hunter, then to Bloom who nodded at me, a proud smile on his face.

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Hell yeah,” Tye said.

“I’m in,” I added on.

Hunter laughed. “If only all talent was this easy. Shanna, tomorrow when you come in go to legal, they need to sort out your pay raise for the TV time and Breaking Ground filming. Tye, same for you with the filming of Breaking Ground. Also, tomorrow when you’re in legal they’ll break down the filming of Breaking Ground, how often they’ll follow you, the ins and outs, dos and don’ts. If you have any questions, just call me or Matt, okay?”

Tye nodded and stood. I stood too and we shook hands with each of them.

“Just do us one more favor?” Hunter called as we went to leave.

We turned to look at him. “Don’t post anything…relationship wise on social media till after it hits the NXT airwaves, okay? It’s your life but it makes kayfabe easier. If you have to post something…try and keep it vague? I don’t want to tell you how to run your lives but you know the deal around here.”

Tye and I nodded and promised before walking out.

As soon as we closed the door on the office Tye scooped me up in his arms and spun me around, making me squeal as he laughed.

“Best twenty-four hours of my life,” Tye said as he put me down. His hand found my cheek and he pulled me up to kiss him. I returned the kiss, feeling excitement and pure joy run through me. We broke apart and smiled at each other.

“We need to celebrate,” he declared.

“How?” I asked.

“Depends, do you want a lazy night in or a night out?” he asked.

I groaned. “Lazy night in?” I begged.

Tye laughed. “You got it. Let’s get going, I’ll drop you at your place. Come over tonight around six? I’ll handle dinner and the entertainment. You come in whatever comfy clothes you want.”

“God,” I said, laughing as we walked. “You really are a perfect ten.”


	4. A Debut and Desperation

 

It was a week later and we were filming for my NXT on screen debut. We filmed a couple NXT tapings at a time so while I wouldn’t be in the ring this week, I’d be in a backstage segment with Tye that would go on as an exclusive on the WWE network following NXT. Then we’d all change for the next round of tapings.

Earlier I had watched the interview begin with Tye talking about how he wasn’t joining SAnitY and saw the attack that took place during the interview, Jose and Roderick making the save. The main event was set for later, Tye, Jose and Roderick v. SAnitY. I kissed Tye’s cheek before he went out for the match and he winked down at me. “Soon the world will know about us,” he said. “You ready for that?”

I shrugged. “As long as you’re all mine, I don’t care if everyone knows.”

He smirked and stole a quick kiss. “Just yours,” he promised.

I smiled and watched Tye’s entrance, loving how the fans reacted to him. I know it gave Tye an adrenaline rush. Jose’s entrance was next and it was, as always fun. Roderick Strong went out next and the crowd cheered for him too and I smiled, seeing the three guys prep in their corner for their opponents.

SAnitY’s music hit and I watched the entrance from my place backstage, Liv standing beside me as we watched. The guys held their own, doing a good job of tagging in and out. However, when Killian Dain tagged in I winced, seeing him go directly for Tye, hitting him hard. The match continued and when it looked like Roderick might get the pin on Young things broke down. Wolfe broke up the pin and Jose took him to the outside. Roderick hit the ropes to go after Eric Young again but was tripped up by Killian Dain. Tye slid in while the ref focused on Dain and hit the Tyebreaker on Eric Young but then I saw it happen. Nikki climbed to the top rope and launched onto Tye, delivering a hurricarana over the top rope and knocking Tye over. She was back on the apron quickly, drawing the ref’s attention and Dain hit Roderick with a cross body, knocking the wind from Roderick. Eric Young picked up the win. SAnitY left the ring area and that was my cue to meet Tye and the guys once backstage.

My concern for Tye and the guys was genuine and as Hunter had always said, genuine emotions make it easy to put it on screen. As the trio came back stage the cameras got on them as they checked each other, Roderick holding his ribs from the hit and Tye and Jose nursing other bumps. Tye looked at me and gave me a look, telling me it was time. I walked into the shot and wrapped my arms carefully around him, taking some of his weight.

“You guys okay?” I asked, my eyes on Tye for a moment before looking at Jose and Roderick. I reached a hand out to Roderick, carefully placing my hand on his shoulder. “Roddy?” I asked.

He nodded slowly, carefully and took a deep breath. Jose waved me off and I turned to Tye, as we’d planned. “Tye?” I asked, my right hand sliding up to go around the back of his neck, getting him to focus on me.

“I told you I should’ve been out there,” I said, letting a little annoyance lace my voice.

Tye sighed. “And I told you, I don’t want you out there. Young is insane, who knows what could happen to you?”

“And looked what happened to you guys cause I wasn’t out there to stop Nikki,” I replied.

Tye sighed. “I’m not going to make you a target for them,” he replied. I clenched my jaw.

“Fine, I’ll make Nikki a target,” I said. Tye sighed, implying we’d had this conversation hundreds of times before taking my cheek in his hands and pulling me close to him, our foreheads touching.

“You’re not gonna stop, are you?” He asked, the camera close-up on us now, catching his words.

“Not until they do,” I responded, Tye let out a breath and gently kissed my lips, so light it barely counted as an actual kiss. It reminded me of the almost kiss from outside the dance club, the night we first started seeing each other.

The cameras clicked off and Hunter clapped from off screen, the taping complete. “Great job,” he said, coming over to us. He shook the guys’ hands.

“Really, the three of you put on a hell of a match,” he said, smiling proudly.

The guys nodded their thanks to him, Tye’s arm still around my shoulders.

“And you,” Hunter said, smiling at me. I felt myself beam back up, I couldn’t help it. “You look, to all the world, the pissed-off-no-longer-secret girlfriend of Tye Dillinger. That was perfect.”

I laughed lightly. “Like you said, real emotions are easy on screen.” Hunter laughed and pulled me into a hug, stealing me out of Tye’s arms momentarily before placing me right back in front of Tye, whose hand went around my waist.

“You guys know the drill, next round. Shower, change. Shanna, I need you to run to hair and makeup and your hair done for a match. You are going to challenge Nikki for a match over what she did to the guys.”

I nodded and turned to Tye, giving him a quick kiss before running off to change and get my hair redone.

After I was ready for my match Hunter played the replay package they were cutting together from what would be aired as last week. It showed the interview, the attack, the save and the match. It also included me and Tye talking, me promising that I wouldn’t stop until SAnitY did.

“This will air next week. The guys are filming a cut scene now where Andrea is interviewing Roderick and Jose about their involvement. That will follow the replay package. Then we’ll cut to a clip of you, calling out Nikki in the ring for your match.”

I nodded. “She’s on board?” I asked.

Hunter nodded and then motioned over my shoulder. I turned and saw Nikki standing there. Gimmicks and teams on screen aside she was a pretty cool girl, one of the few who had been wrestling a long time and one I knew I could go have a great match with, no planning required. We clicked. Hunter waved her over and she came to stand beside me, dressed in her gear but her demeanor was drastically calm compared to her crazy character.

“You girls, go out there and do this match right. Two things need to happen out there for this storyline to continue. First, Nikki you go out solo, but the rest of your crew does make an appearance. They don’t interfere in the match and you girls, I want you to decide who goes over tonight. The only thing that has to happen is after the match SAnitY corners Shanna. That’ll draw out Tye, Roderick and Jose. SAnitY is gonna get beaten back out of there. You girls, do the match your way. Just do the before and after the match my way. Got it?”

I looked and Nikki and she was doing her best not to smile hugely. Hunter trusted us to make the call. That was rare in the industry but not so rare here on NXT. We both knew to savor the trust and not fuck it up.

“Good, go,” Hunter said, patting our shoulders. We turned to go to the Gorilla, waiting for our cue.

“I think you need to go over,” Nikki said, her eyes not on me.

I turned to stare at her. “What?”

“SAnitY gets the win and runs. Why would we attack if I win?”

I shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe. Why don’t we do it like this…we lead towards me going over but if the crowd seems overly invested in the badness of SAnitY, if it seems they’re all behind me, pissed at the mere sight of all of you, you go over. The beat down after will enhance the heel side.”

She looked at me and nodded. She knew we were both putting our pride aside. A loss in the record books didn’t matter as much when the storyline could change everyone’s careers. I could hear the recap of last week playing and heard Roderick and Jose’s interview. The tech backstage motioned to me and I took my spot. Tye ran over and smiled down at me, giving me a quick kiss on the temple before getting out of my way to do my entrance.

My music hit and felt a thrill run through me. I went out, playing to the crowd before sliding into the ring. I went over and grabbed a mic, pacing the ring before speaking as my music died. The crowd chanted “Ten” at me and I tried not to laugh. There were signs in the crowd calling me “The Real Perfect 10” and other puns.

I put the mic to my mouth and stopped pacing, looking to the cameras.

“Last week, we all saw what happened. We saw SAnitY use their numbers to their advantage. And while we all know Nikki Cross is as certifiably insane we also know any decent man wouldn’t hit a woman.” The crowd cheered, agreeing. “So, unfortunately for me and my friends, they’re decent men. So, even to win a match, they won’t attack Nikki. But I can.” The crowd cheered again.

“Nikki,” I said, turning to face the ramp. “You want to be in a match so bad? Get out here and face me!”

I didn’t wait long, Nikki’s music hit quickly and I tossed the mic aside. She charged the ring and I backed to the ropes, hitting them as she slid in the ring and launching myself at her with a forearm. She flailed in frustration and a ref came into the ring to separate us. I pushed against his arm, begging her to take a shot. Nikki shouted back, pulling at her hair then shouting at the ref to start the match.

He looked at me and I nodded. “Start the match!” I said.

The ref shrugged slightly and the bell rung. Nikki and I flew at each other. We had seven minutes for the match, the post-match segment being more important. We gave it our all and Nikki hit me with a hurricarana, just as she did Tye. I laid on the mat, dizzy as she came to get the cover.

One, two, I kicked out and Nikki, in fake rage, hit the mat beside me, pounding it with her fists.

“Go over,” Nikki grunted at me, her face to the mat.

I put a hand to my head, covering my mouth from view. “You sure?” I asked.

“They want you to win. I need a reason to go postal.”

“Go postal,” I said.  She got what I meant. She jumped up and grabbed my leg, pulling me to her and starting to land punches. I covered up but when she got up, to rant around the ring and shout insanely I got my feet back under me. I popped up as she turned and charged her, taking her down to the mat and beating on her for a moment before getting up, dragging her by her hair.

“You think you get to touch my man?” I shouted at her. The crowd ooohhhed at that and then the shouting changed. SAnitY was coming down the ring surrounding it. I backed to the center of the ring and Nikki grabbed me, trying to set me up for the swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker. I reversed out of it, turning her around and grabbing her in a hangman’s neckbreaker. I hit the move hard and she crumpled over, as I rushed around for the cover. The third fall counted out and the ring bell rung. I stood quickly as SAnitY jumped up on the ring apron around me. I watched, wary eyes as the circled the ring.

I knew it was planned but it didn’t keep the fear from seeping through me. Nikki was one thing but I knew, deep down, Wolfe, Dain and Young were different. They wouldn’t intentionally, truly hurt me. But they were rough.

Wolfe got into the ring first and I tried backing away from him, going to get out of the ring and ending up right in Dain’s path.

Dain shoved me back into the ring and Nikki caught me, hitting the swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker she’d intended to hit before. I hit the mat hard and laid there and Nikki, doing her job, climbed on top of me and landed a few blows. Eric Young shouted then. “Give her to me!”

I felt Nikki stiffen but, she did her part, getting up and grabbing me by my hair, throwing me into Eric who caught me by my throat, his grip a bit tighter than I felt was necessary.

“Where is your lover boy now?” Young shouted in my face. His voice grated on my ears and his breath was stale. I grimaced away from him, still stuck in his grasp.

I heard the crowd pop and heard the sounds of Tye, Jose and Roderick getting into the ring. Eric tossed me to the mat as Tye came at him. I looked up from the mat, my hand on my throat as I watched Tye rip into Eric.  Wolfe and Dain were knocked out of the ring quickly by Jose and Roderick and I scrambled to my feet to dropkick Nikki through the second rope. I turned and watched as Tye hit the Tyebreaker on Young, glaring down at him before standing and coming over to me, putting his body between me and Young. He glared at Young as SAnitY pulled their leader from the ring, his eyes and hands going to my neck, his fingers shaking as he brushed over the redness there. Tye growled, actually growled and turned to look at Young again.

“You touch her again and I’ll kill you!” Tye shouted. Young shouted incoherently back as Tye’s music hit. Jose and Roderick stood beside me, the three of us standing behind Tye as he shouted at Young. I walked over and slid a hand up Tye back to his shoulder and his words cut off, turning to look at me. His eyes were dark and grabbed me to him, slightly rougher than usual and kissed me. The crowd cheered and when we broke apart SAnitY was gone from ringside. We all left the ring area.

When we got backstage I heard Matt Bloom and Hunter’s voices shouting. We turned the corner and there was SAnitY, each of them standing slightly apart from Eric Young who was being chewed out by the pair.

“Are you actually fucking crazy?” Hunter shouted, his face inches from Eric’s. “I told you all to gang up around her, to let Nikki hit a bunch of moves, not to put your hands on her!”

“I’m doing my job!” Young shouted back. Bloom stepped between them and pointed to me, forcing Hunter’s attention to the four of us. Hunter stalked away, leaving Bloom to deal with the group. Nikki caught my eye and I saw the apology there before Hunter’s body blocked my view.

“Shanna, you okay?” Hunter asked. He was fuming, breathing hard. “To the trainers, now,” he said. I didn’t argue. We walked off to the trainer, Tye’s fists clenched at his sides as we walked. Jose and Roderick followed too, as if being security for me as we went.

Once in the trainer’s room, with more light on it Hunter cursed under his breath.

“Shanna, you know I wouldn’t let him do that,” Hunter said, his voice angry and pleading at the same time.

“I know Hunter,” I said, my voice sounding rawer than I’d have liked it to sound.

Tye growled again, an arm going around me protectively as one of the trainers looked at the bruising.

“Her windpipe is fine, not crushed, just slightly swollen. The bruises will be gone in a day,” she said, handing me an ice pack to place there, just to help the process along.

I pressed the ice pack to my throat and took a deep breath, smiling at her. “Thanks,” I said, my voice still weak.

“Hunter, we gotta do something about this,” Tye said.

“We will. I didn’t want that to happen, I wouldn’t let that happen. Young will pay, in a few ways for this.”

“You’re going to fine him?” Roderick asked.

“Yes, all of you know the rules around here. He was told the limit and he crossed that.

“What else are you gonna do about this?” Tye demanded.

“Tye, I’m fine,” I said, trying to cool him down. He held a hand up to me, clearly too angry at the moment. The sounds I made that passed for talking probably didn’t help.

“You want him?” Hunter asked. “Next week?”

Tye nodded. “Yes.”

“Okay, you got it. But let’s be clear, she’s in this now, so are these guys. You get Eric Young, one on one, but all of them, will be at ringside.”

Tye started to protest but Jose cut him off. “It’ll be okay, we’ll cover her,” he insisted. Tye took a breath. Hunter walked over and kissed my forehead.

“Sorry about that, kid,” he said, true apology in his voice.

I nodded. “Not your fault. And it’s not Nikki’s either, she didn’t want to pass me to him but she did her role, don’t hit her with a fine,” I said, hoping he’d understand.

Hunter nodded. “Okay, if you say so. Just Young then.”

I nodded.

Hunter nodded again, kissed the crown of my head once more and turned to walk out, his voice rising the second he hit the hallway. “Where’s Young?” he shouted. Shouts answered him.

I sat on the trainer’s table with the icepack to my neck.

Tye came back to me and I could see his body shaking slightly. He kissed my temple but I could feel the restrained rage under his skin. I took his hand in mine and gave it a squeeze as we listened to the doctors.


	5. An Idea

 

It had been weeks since the incident with Eric Young. The feud was going strong and I was getting more TV time each week. I sat down with the team who handled Breaking Ground and they informed me that they’d put a package together already about my own journey to WWE and where I was now.

“We’ve included Tye, of course,” one of the assistant producers said. “You’re both on this season so it’s about your own journey but, because of the storyline and your real life, we’re going to tie you in together at points.”

I nodded, it made sense of course.

There was a knock on the door and I turned, Mike telling whoever it was to come in.

William Regal entered the room and smiled at me, coming over to me quickly. I’d done a stint in England and that’s when Regal had found me, recommending me to the rest of the talent scouts. It had been happening at the same time as they had scouted the WWE UK tournament and Regal hadn’t been around too much in the last few weeks as he helped organize and settle the UK wrestlers that were coming over here.

“Ms. Hyde, just who I was looking for,” he said as I, very unprofessionally, dove in to hug him, like a daughter would a father. He laughed and hugged me tightly. The night I’d met Regal I’d been busted open above my eye and he’d shaken my hand, blood and all. He and I didn’t stand by protocol much.

“Hi boss man,” I said, smiling at him. He kissed the crown of my head before forcing me to step back from him an arm’s length. He tilted my chin up so he could see my neck in the light.

“No marks,” he commented.

“The thing with Young was so long ago, of course there’s no marks,” I said.

Regal smirked at me. “I was referring to Mr. Dillinger.” I blushed bright red, causing him to laugh. The producers laughed too and I turned, seeing the camera was on and pointed at me. I’d forgotten they’d turned it on for the discussion of Breaking Ground and realized they’d just caught their first clip of me.

“You planned that,” I said, turning to look at Regal who smiled down at me cheekily.

“You, my dear, are many things but you do put your best face forward. This program is about you, the real you. So, give them the real you, jokes, bad hair days and all.”

I laughed and nodded, hugging him again. Regal smiled and pulled me from the room with him and the cameras followed. I was glad there were certain restrictions on their following but I knew from the moment I got to the PC every day and any meetings about my future, they’d be there.

Regal directed me into the gym area full of rings and I saw Tye wiping his face off as he spoke to Dash wilder, the two of them clearly having just finished grappling.

“Mr. Dillinger,” Regal called out. Everyone’s head turned to see him, his voice clear and distinct in the room. Tye, obeying immediately as all of us did when either Regal, Hunter or Bloom called us, rushed over and smiled at me before turning his attention to Regal.

“I have a bone to pick with you sir,” Regal informed him. The cameras circled us and I felt Regal’s grip tighten for a moment. He was telling me to relax. He would do this, whatever it was, with or without the cameras around.

“Yes, sir?” Tye asked, his voice slightly uncertain if this was a joke or Regal had an issue with him.

“Who do you think you are, taking my pride and joy, the only female talent I brought back from the UK this last go around and make her your girlfriend? Huh? I don’t need her getting caught up with the likes of you.”

Tye was silent, Regal was putting on a show of sounding mad. Given his joke before I knew this was going to turn funny momentarily.

“Mr. Regal, sir, I…”

“Let me give you a piece of advice Mr. Dillinger,” Regal said, releasing me from under his arm and stepping closer to Tye. “You hurt her, in any way other than she may like in the bedroom, and I will come out of retirement and kick your ass all over this world, you hear me?”

Tye face went from shocked, to truly shocked about the bedroom comment, and back to serious.

Regal broke his serious face first and laughed, which made both Tye and I break and laugh too. Tye’s eyes caught mine and he widened them as if to say “Didn’t see that coming.”

I rolled my eyes and turned to go workout, shouting back at Regal and Tye. “You’re like an awkward hippie dad, all about free love and his kids being happy but you crossed a line talking about my sex life!”

That got a laugh from nearly everyone in earshot. I slid into a ring where Liv stood with Billie Kay.

Billie was red from laughing. “He loves embarrassing all of us,” she said, motioning to Regal.

I nodded and, after some more laughter, we started our drills. Tye went back to his work out, running over to our ring to playfully slap my ass lightly when I was in a lockup on the ropes with Billie. I shouted and he just laughed, running back to his ring.

When we were done for the day I met Tye by his SUV, having driven together today. We’d fallen into an easy routine and although we didn’t always stay at each other’s places we’d each agreed, without words, to leave some clothes at each place so we could come back after the end of the work day and relax and one place together.

“Your place or mine?” Tye asked as he unlocked and opened my door for me.

I shrugged. “Whichever.”

Tye smiled and walked around, getting in on the driver’s side. “My place? He said, confirming it was okay.

“Sure, are we going anywhere else today?” I asked.

“I don’t think we have anything, do we?”

I shook my head no.

“Yes, sweatpants it is,” Tye said, smiling. I laughed.

When we got to Tye’s house I climbed out and we went inside. Once inside I dropped my bag by the front door and immediately raced up the stairs. “I call shower first,” I shouted over my shoulder. Tye had just finished locking the door and greeting Sheriff who barked at my outburst. Tye shouted, chasing after me, his longer legs allowing him to get up two stairs at a time.

He caught me in the hallway, his strong arms around my waist and he pulled me back against him, shifting his weight so he could push me into the wall right outside the bathroom.

“Cheater,’ he said, laughing slightly as he pressed all his weight into me.

“Almost made it that time,” I lamented, trying not to laugh.

Tye smiled and dipped his head, kissing my shoulder once. “You could just ask to go first, ya know?” Tye said. His left hand found my hip and he kissed my shoulder again. I shivered a little.

“Where’s the fun in that?” I asked.

Tye chuckled and pulled his head back, looking at me. “Did Regal tell you he was gonna scare the shit out of me like that today?”

I laughed. “No, you think if he had I’d let him?”

Tye shrugged and smiled down at my. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. His lips caught mine and we briefly battled for dominance but I backed down, loving the feeling of Tye taking control of me. He pressed me into the wall harder and I could feel my body reacting to him, heat pooling in my core and between my thighs.

His hands twisted into my hair and I rolled my hips against his, one of his legs pushing between mine gently, making me gasp. My gasp broke the kiss and Tye’s lips immediately relocated to my neck. He nipped at my skin and I whimpered, my hands flying up to his shoulders, my nails digging in slightly.

Tye let out a short laugh and bit my shoulder before pulling me closer to him.

“Tye,” I whimpered, my head going a little fuzzy.

“Mhmm?” he mumbled against my neck.

I was about to beg him, to do what I’m not sure, when there was a knock on his front door. Tye groaned.

“Who the fuck is that?” I asked, glancing down the hallway to the stairs.

“No idea,” he said, stepping back from me. He winked at me and went down the stairs, calling over his shoulder “you can shower first.”

I shivered and pushed myself off the wall, going into the bathroom as I heard Tye open the door. I showered quickly, feeling my body tingle at the touch of the water. I groaned and shivered, remembering the feel of Tye’s lips on my throat.

I got out of the shower a few minutes later, groaning in frustration. My body was still tense and tingling, wanting Tye. We’d spent nights at each other’s houses and had spent a good amount of time wrapped in each other’s arms but we had slept together yet. Tye, not pushing and me afraid to come across desperate. I was, however, very desperate.

I walked down the hall, wrapped in my towel to Tye’s spare room where I’d stored some clothes of mine. Grabbing underwear, a sports bra, sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt I got dressed quickly and headed down the hall to the top of the stairs.

“Tye?” I called out for him.

“Kitchen,” he called back.

I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, smiling at him as I tucked my hair up into a lose ponytail.

He stepped back and turned to face me, a smile on his lips. Behind him I saw a large box on the kitchen counter.

“What’s that?” I asked.

Tye smiled. “A care package from my family,” he said as he went to cut it open.

I smiled and walked over, picking Sheriff up as he jumped and barked around the table.  Tye moved the tissue paper off of the top of the box. Inside there was a bunch of little boxes and gifts. A card laid on top of the pile.

Tye grabbed it and opened the card, the sounds of people singing happy birthday coming out of the recorder attached. He smiled and put the card down, taking out the wrapped packages. Inside there were homemade cookies, a shirt, a pair of pants and a few finger-painted pictures. These made Tye smile the most.

“My nieces,” Tye said, holding them up to me.

“That’s adorable, I said, smiling at him. I watched as he stared at the photos, longingly. “You miss them,” I said.

Tye nodded. I rubbed a hand on his back in slow circles. He shook himself out of his reverie. “I need a shower,” he said.

I nodded. “Want me to start dinner?” I asked.

“Yes, please,” he said.

I smiled. “Steak or chicken?”

“Steak, if you don’t mind.”

I smiled and kissed him before he went upstairs. Luckily for me he left his phone right there on the counter.

Quickly I unlocked his phone, Tye having told me his code a few days ago to answer a text to Jose. I scrolled through his contact and copied the numbers I needed, clearing the action and locking his phone again. Then, I started cooking dinner, smiling to myself.

Tye’s birthday was in a few days and I knew exactly what to get him.


	6. A Gift

 

It was February 19th, a Sunday and Tye’s birthday. I woke up early and went downstairs, taking Sheriff out before cooking French toast and turkey bacon, making Tye his coffee and carrying all of it upstairs to Tye on a bed tray. Sheriff ran in the room and I scooped him up, putting him on the bed so he wouldn’t bark. Tye woke slowly and smiled at Sheriff sleepily.

“Hey,” he said, smiling at me. 

“Morning,” I said, smiling at him. Tye, noticing the tray, sat up.

“You didn’t go all out, did you?”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” I said setting the tray down.

“Where’s your plate?” He asked.

I smiled at him. “I have an early workout with Liv this morning. She needs the cardio push.”

“What?” Tye groaned.

“Oh, cheer up, birthday boy. You’ll get your presents later.”

“Promise?” he asked, smirking devilishly at me.

“Promise,” I said, smiling before I leaned down and kissed him. “I will see you later. You have lunch with the boys and dinner with me tonight, plenty of presents coming your way.”

Tye smiled and bit into a piece of bacon. I left him there, enjoying his breakfast and splitting the bacon with Sheriff.

I left in my car but instead of going to the gym I headed to the airport.

Tye’s family was there at the airport, or at least on the way. I parked my car and rushed inside, a sign saying “The Perfect 10 Family” under my arm. I waited at the arrivals gate. When their flight landed I held up my sign, shifting my weight nervously, biting my lip.

I saw his mother, father, two sisters, brother-in-law and two nieces, Rylee and McKenna.  McKenna, not even a year old yet, was fidgety in her mother’s arms. I held the sign up so they could see me and was relieved to see his parents smiling as they walked over to me. I put the sign down and started to introduce myself but was cut off by a hug from his mother.

I hugged her back, slightly shocked but relieved all the same.

“I hope you have a car big enough.”

I smiled and held up my keys. “I got an extra-large rental, told Tye my car had to go to the shop.”

“Sneaky,” his sister said. “I like it,” she said, coming over and hugging me too. A hug fest ensued. “Okay, let’s get your bags and get you to the hotel. My car is actually parked there so I’ll leave you with the rental. And yes,” I said, smiling at his sister. “There’s a car seat for McKenna.”

His sister leaned into me, smiling hugely. “No wonder my brother has been talking about you non-stop.”

\--

That night I’d arranged for Tye’s family to be put in a private dining room of one of Tye’s favorite restaurants. I got dressed up nice, a different, less revealing green dress on to keep the theme up and went to get Tye.

I called him when I was outside and he got into my car, looking at it. “You got the car back already?” He asked.

“Wasn’t as big of an issue as the mechanic thought,” I said, smiling. I leaned over and kissed him. “Good lunch with the boys?” I asked.

“I’m still full,” he said, groaning happily.

“I hope you’re not too full,” I said, laughing. “Or I made the reservation for nothing.”

He laughed. “Trust me, I can’t wait for dinner with you,” he said, smiling at me. I kissed him once more and put the car into drive.

When we got to the restaurant I took Tye’s hand in mine and he smiled at me. “You’re too much,” he said, smiling.

I smiled up at him and lead the way into the restaurant, being sure to beat him to the hostess stand.

“Reservation for Dillinger,” I said, smiling at the host.

She smiled back, her eyes sparkling at me. “Of course, right this way,” she said, smiling. She grabbed two menus and led us through the restaurant to the back room, the doors closed.

“Why are we going to the back of the restaurant?” Tye asked, his steps slowing slightly. I tugged him along and when we got to the closed doors I smiled at him and released his hands.

“So, I might have lied to you about my plans for today,” I said, grabbing the handle on the double door to the left, the hostess to the right. I looked at her and knocked twice on the door before nodding and we threw open the doors.

“Surprise!”

The room erupted into noise and Tye’s eyes widened. His family and a few superstars were there but I know Tye only had eyes on his family. He rushed them, all other thought driven from his head.

I could see his mother crying and she hugged him. I smiled at the waitress and stepped into the room, closing the party room doors behind me to block the noise from the restaurant.

Becky came over and hugged me tightly. “You pulled it off,” she said, smiling. I smiled back.

“Yes, I lied to arrange a visit and a reservation and somehow it all worked out.”

Tye broke apart from his family and came right to me.  He lifted me in his arms and kissed me, pulling me completely against him. I kissed back, smiling into the kiss before he pulled away.

“You did this? You did all of this?” he asked, his voice an octave higher due to excitement.

I laughed. “I didn’t know what to get you and then the package came from your family. I saw how much you missed them.”

“But, how?” He asked.

“Don’t worry about the how, just enjoy your party,” I said. Tye kissed me again before we all sat down.

Hours passed and we ate, drank, joked and laughed. When the cake came for Tye his little niece McKenna squealed in his lap as he blew out the candles.

Tye bounced McKenna on his knee as a waitress cut the cake and started passing out the pieces.

“How long are all of you here for?” Tye asked.

“Uhm, till Thursday. We’re here for your tapings,” his Mom said.

“How?” Tye asked. “I mean, we talked about you visiting a month ago and…”

“Shanna fixed it all for us,” his Mom said, smiling at me. I smiled back, feeling my face heat up.

Tye’s eyes fell to me. “All of it?” he asked.

I nodded and Tye leaned over to me, kissing me quickly. McKenna cooed and reached for me, the first time she had all night. I took her from him and she immediately quieted, settling into my arms. We all ate our cake and it wasn’t until we had cleared everything up and the bill was paid, I and the other wrestlers present shouting Tye and his family down and pushing their wallets away, that I noticed McKenna had fallen asleep in my arms.

I stilled when I noticed. His sister smiled at me and then at Tye, quirking an eyebrow at him as she stood. “You carry her out to the car and we’ll buckle her in, hopefully she won’t wake up screaming.” I nodded and stood carefully, Tye draping my coat over my shoulders, taking my bag in his hands. His sister placed McKenna’s coat over her, tucking it around her sides so she could stay warm.

When we got outside I bee lined for the rental and his sister opened the door with the keys, his brother-in-law racing ahead to open the door. Tye lagged behind, carrying Rylee who was also half asleep despite the cake she had just inhaled.

With his sisters help we placed McKenna in the car seat and Tye went around, putting Rylee in the booster seat.

“Uncle Tye?” Rylee said, sleepily.

“Yes, princess?”

“Is Aunt Shanna gonna visit us at home for my birthday?” she asked.

My heart jumped to my throat at the word “Aunt” and I buckled the last clip into place around McKenna. Tye looked at me across the backseat.

“I sure hope so sweetheart,” he said, kissing her forehead.

We closed the doors quietly and hugged his family goodbye.

“See you tomorrow?” His dad said to Tye. Tye nodded, smiling hugely.

“Tomorrow, Dad,” he said.

They pulled out, heading for the hotel. Tye came over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, his eyes locked on mine. Everyone else left, Becky cat calling out of the car as she passed us. We stood next to my car and I shivered at the look he gave me.

“Home?” he asked.

I nodded.

\--

We drove to his house and when we got out I went inside with Tye.

“I’ll take Sheriff out,” I said, smiling at him.

“Sure,” he said, smiling back.

I clipped Sheriff’s leash to him and we went outside, coming back in quickly. When I unclipped him he grabbed one of his toys and trotted into the living room, going to his favorite sleeping space I assumed.

I looked around for Tye as I closed and locked the front door.

“Tye?” I called out.

“In the kitchen,” he responded. I walked in and smiled at him as he stood by the counter, making two cups of tea.

“Tea?” For me?” I asked, smiling at him, exaggerating the rhyme.

“It’s the least I could do,” Tye said, turning to wrap his arms around me, lifting me easily and setting me on the counter.

I laughed at the quick motion and wrapped my arms around his neck. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Tonight,” Tye said, placing his forehead on mine. There was a hint of alcohol on his breath though his last drink had been well over an hour ago. “You…you did too much for me today, Shanna.”

“What do you mean?”

“You…fuck,” Tye said, backing his head away from mine, running the heel of his hand over his eyes quickly. It was then I realized that Tye’s eyes were watering.

“Tye? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, that’s the thing. You…you gave me everything I wanted tonight. My family,” his voice broke slightly. “You…flew them out here, got them a rental car, car seats and booster seats and food and a hotel room…” he shook his head.

“It’s just my way of covering up the fact that I had absolutely no idea what to get you.”

Tye shook his head and wrapped his arms around me, going to stand between my legs.

“You’re too good for me,” he sighed.

“What?” I asked.

“Come on, I’m the idiot who doesn’t open his mouth for nearly a year, who still manages to get a girl who flies his family over a thousand miles for his birthday. How am I ever going to top that? How did you even afford that?” He asked, laughing.

“I used a lot of miles,” I said, shrugging. “It’s not a competition, Tye.”

He sighed and his hands slid around the back of my neck, his fingers gripping the base of my hair.

“You know what made me the happiest tonight?” Tye asked. I waited, shrugging to indicate I had no idea. “The “Aunt” comment from Rylee. Seeing McKenna fall asleep in your arms.”

“Yeah? Why is that?” I asked.

“Seeing my family take to you like that,” he said, brushing hair from my face, the action sending a shiver down my spine. “It just…makes everything else feel…better.”

I laughed. “You’re telling me? I’m the girl who went in your phone, got your mom’s cell number, called her, introduced myself, booked the flights and met strangers at the airport. Basically being like ‘Hi, I’m in love with your son, come meet me for the first time and surprise him for his birthday!’”

When I realized what I said I froze, I could feel my face heating up. A few second passed. Then a minute. Then a few minutes.

“What did you say?” Tye asked.


	7. Confessions

 

I jumped off the counter, my face redder than my hair.

“Shanna?” Tye said, spinning to follow me out of the kitchen. I searched for my bag and found it by the front door.

“I should go,” I said, grabbing my bag and digging through it for my keys.

“Shanna, are you really going to run out like that?” Tye said as he came out of the kitchen, his voice cracking slightly.

“It seems like the best plan,” I said, turning my back to him, my hands shaking.

“What’s wrong?” Tye asked. I could hear the laughter in his voice. The sound broke me.

I dropped my bag, more like threw it to the floor and spun on Tye. “Is it funny to you?”

“What?” Tye asked, stepping back from me a few paces. I felt the tears spill over my eyes and wiped them away quickly. “What’s wrong? He asked.

“What’s wrong? You heard me Tye, you heard what I said. And rather than say anything you just stared at me!”

“You’re mad because I didn’t say anything back right away?” Tye asked.

“Tye, just let me leave,” I begged, spotting my keys on my floor and crouching down and snatching them up, grabbing my bag and turning to grab the front door. The embarrassment and anxiety rose up in me, making my hands shake as I unlocked the front door. I pulled the door open but Tye’s hand slammed the door shut with so much force it ripped the door handle from my grasp.

“What the fuck?” I said, turning to face him. Tye grabbed my face and kissed me, hard, slamming me into the wall right by his front door. The force and pain of it shocked me. His body pressed into mine and I groaned and his right hand dug into my hair, his left hand going around my back and lifting me, pinning me slightly above him to the wall.

His lips kept their pressure on mine, his hands rough as he pinned me there, kissing me like it was the only thing he knew how to do. I whimpered, feeling the anxiety battle my desire in my stomach. The feeling made me dizzy. I pushed Tye away from me and when my feet hit the floor I felt my legs shaking, as if they would give out. My brain flashed back to the kitchen, the look on his face, how he’d said nothing. My eyes stung as I wiped at the tears there.

I had promised myself to not say it first. To not get too invested too quickly. And here I was, in the same spot I always found myself in. Embarrassed and scared about what he’d say next.

Shock was written across Tye’s face. His mouth opened and closed a few times. I stared at him, waiting, ignoring the tears on my cheeks. Something shifted on his face, in his eyes. “Shanna,” he whispered, reaching for me.

I flinched away from him. Hurt registered in his eyes. “Shanna…” he said again, clearing his throat. He looked at me and I stared at him, trying to be defiant, trying to pretend I wasn’t dying from embarrassment. The shaking of my body gave me away, though. I knew he could feel it.

“I’m sorry, okay?” He said.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner. I was fucking terrified, okay?”

I didn’t understand what he was doing, what he meant. I could only stare at him. “Tye…what do you mean?”

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I wanted to show you that I could be more than just some fucking idiot from Canada who sat in developmental for so long his fiancé left him for being a loser. I didn’t want to be the thirty-six year old guy who got lucky, snagged the woman of his dreams and, like a fucking teenager, said I love you on day two, okay? I didn’t want to be the guy who followed you like a puppy dog anymore. I wanted to prove to you that I was the right guy for you. That I deserved you. So I kept my mouth shut.”

I stared at him, anything I had planned to say lost in my throat. Tye took a breath, looking at me and I could see the fear still there.

“And then,” he said, starting to pace in front of me. “And then you, being so much better than me, do the one thing for me that no one ever has. You put me first. I’m not just talking about today, I’m talking about at work, that storyline, risking yourself, your body, because you know the storyline could make both of our careers and you know that my dream has been this company. You put me first at the gym over anything else too. You wait for me to finish an extra set rather than whining that you want to leave. You drive when I’m exhausted even though I know you hate my SUV. You cook me breakfast and dinner, you even prep lunch when you know neither of us will have time to take a break and eat.”

He paced quickly and I could see his body tensing as he moved, like he does when he’s in the ring, the adrenaline coursing through him.

“And today, I wake up to you in my bed, with my dog and breakfast? You, without an argument, send me off to drink and eat with the guys for lunch and you pick me up for dinner, in, of all things, a goddamn green dress and I feel like the luckiest bastard on the planet. And that’s only half of it. We get to dinner and you’ve not just organized a surprise party, you spent airline miles, and money, to get my family here. To make them feel comfortable, to bring us together so I see them more than once a year. And what do I do?”

Tye stops pacing and looks at me. “I’m the asshole that when his girlfriend says she loves him stares at her, unable to say a damn word. And, when she’s upset continues to be an idiot. I’m terrified to say it. The last person I said it to, and meant it, walked away like I was nothing. And it made me believe that. So I’m fucking scared,” he said, his voice breaking a little.

I pushed myself away from the wall and walked over to him, my entire body shaking, and the adrenaline of emotions shooting through me. “You’re scared about what?” I ask, my voice barely audible, cracking on the last word.

“I’m scared to say I love you because I feel like the second I do, you’ll be gone.”

Silence filled the house. Sheriff had retreated to another part of the house. I stared at him. “You just did,” I said.

“What?”

“You said it and I’m still here,” I said.

Tye stared at me and he shook his head ruefully. “That’s not exactly the way I wanted to tell you,” he admitted.

I shrugged, unsure what to say to Tye at this point. It was our first fight and it was over something so serious, so raw for both of us, I was afraid to say a word.

Tye took a step closer to me, tentatively reaching for me. I let him cup my face in his right hand. “You’re not going to leave me?” he asked.

I shook my head slightly, not wanting to move too much.

“And…” Tye said, licking his lips once before looking me in the eyes. “And, you love me?”

I blushed but I nodded at him.

“Okay, I rambled for a few minutes there and you’re dead silent. I need to hear you say something, please?”

I stepped closer to him, reaching a shaking hand up to touch the one he rested on my cheek.  “I love you, Tye.”

He sighed, relief flooding his face. “Finally,” he said, leaning down and kissing me. It was a soft kiss, drastically different than the ones from only a few minutes ago. I shivered, feeling the restrain he was exerting, he didn’t want to push. Still, he wouldn’t push me.

I pulled out of the kiss and looked up at him. My voice was shaking when I finally spoke. “Take me to bed, Tye?” I asked.

He stared at me for a moment. He caught the difference in my words. I hadn’t asked him to go to sleep with me, to go to bed with me. I’d asked him to _take me_.

He looked like he wanted to say something but he didn’t. Instead, he took my hand in his and slowly, we made our way upstairs. Once in Tye’s room he kicked the door closed and I laughed briefly when I realized that we’d never done that before because we’d always allowed Sheriff to curl up with is at night. Tonight, it was just me and Tye.

He sat on the edge of his bed, pulling me to him until I could stare into his eyes, the fact that I was standing having no effect on our height matchup. We were nearly even.

Tye reached up and wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss. I returned it, my arms going around his neck instantly.

He pulled me closer and as the kiss deepened I slid into his lap, my dress riding up on my thighs as I straddled him. His hand ghosted over my hips and down the curve of my ass, lingering there as his lips moved to my neck.

My nails found his hair and I gripped him tightly to me, my body already suddenly too hot. When we broke apart I slid out of his grip, reaching down to undo the straps of my heels and kicking them off behind me.

Tye stood and I went immediately to his shirt, unbuttoning it as quickly as I could. Tye pulled the shirt free of his waist band and shed it quickly and I ran my hands over his bare chest, placing a kiss on each of his collar bones before kissing his neck, biting the skin just below his right ear.

“Fuck,” Tye cursed to himself and I laughed a little.  “You think it’s funny?” he asked. I shrugged a little, smirking up at him. “You’ll pay for that,” he said.

“How?” I challenged.

Tye grabbed me by my waist and spun me away from him, forcing me to walk forward until I hit the wall nearest his bed.

“Like this,” Tye said, his lips biting at the back of my neck as his hands found the zipper of my dress. He undid the zipper and I heard him groan.

“No bra, again?” he asked. I whimpered in reply, feeling his length pressed against my ass.  Tye shoved the dress off my shoulders and tugged it down over my hips, his lips and skin kissing up my spine and to my left shoulder, biting there roughly.

I whimpered again and Tye reached an arm around me, cupping my breast in his left hand while his right hand slid down to my ass, grabbing it before pulling back and smacking it once, lightly. I whimpered again, the sound pathetic to my ears but apparently a turn on for Tye.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, his left hand teasing my nipple and his teeth returning to my shoulder. “Make that sound again,” he commanded. In response I pushed my hips back against him. He groaned and pushed against me and I shivered, feeling how badly he wanted me. He pulled his hand back again and this slap was harder.

I whimpered and shuddered, wishing there was something to hold on to. Tye’s body immediately pressed back against mine and he brought his lips to my hear, his left hand abandoning my breast and going south, sliding into my panties quickly. He groaned when he felt the wetness that had begun there.

“Shit, baby, did I do that to you?”

I nodded and gasped out a yes as he teased me. He flicked his fingers against my clit and I yelped, quickly choking back a sob of protest as he stepped back from me. I turned to protest, to beg but I saw his goal. His hands were undoing his belt quickly and I moved to help him, undoing the button and lowering the zipper over the bulge there. He hissed and stared at me, grabbing my face and kissing me roughly again. I kissed back, pushing his pants to the floor and running my hand along the waistband of his boxers.

“Can I? I asked, sliding a hand under the waist band. Tye nodded and swallowed. I gripped both sides of his boxers and forced them down, crouching as I did to free him completely and instead of standing back up, I went right to my knees, grabbing his length as it was exposed to me.

Tye hissed at the contact and I didn’t wait, I couldn’t wait. I took the tip of him into my mouth and a shout escaped him. All sound and no words. I sucked more of him into my mouth and soon had all of him inside my mouth, resisting the urge to gag, bobbing lightly as I raked my hands over his thighs.

“Baby, Shanna, please. As fucking great as that feels I need to not lose it right now.”

I pulled my mouth off of him slowly and looked up at him, my left hand still stroking his length.

“What do you need?” I asked.

“Come here,” he begged, his hand fisting into my hair. He wanted to pull me up by it but he didn’t want to be too rough. I stood and he grabbed me, spinning and laying me out on his bed, his lips going right to my breasts, his teeth finding my right nipple, his left hand tweaking the left.

I groaned and shuddered but Tye kept moving his lips, quickly kissing down my body. He reached my panties and looked up at me, asking for permission.

“Yes,” I whispered.

Tye tore them from me so fast I was sure they were torn in half.

His lips quickly found my center, his tongue finding my clit like he’d been doing this to me for years. He slid two fingers into me, pumping them quickly and I could feel my body clench against his fingers and the wetness sliding out of me. Tye worked me until I was begging, pressing my hips towards him, trying to get more friction on my most sensitive area. Tye’s hands left my body only to grab my hips and pin them to the bed.

“Tye?” I whimpered.

“Yes, baby?”

“Please, fuck me,” I whimpered, trying to make my voice sound strong but it shook as he bit into my thigh lightly.

Tye slid up my body and kissed me and I could taste myself on his lips. I groaned at the taste and Tye smirked at me, his eyes dark as he pulled out of the kiss.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Please, Tye. I need you.”

“Baby, uh, what about…” His voice trailed off. God his voice was shaking, he was dying to be inside me.

“On birth control,” I whimpered.

He groaned and shifted his weight, his arms supporting him as they rested on either side of me. “Last chance to stop me,” he said, the sound of his voice so much deeper than I’d ever heard it.

 I opened my eyes as much as I could and looked at him. I bit my lower lip before speaking. “Do it Tye. Fuck me.”

That was all he needed to hear and he drove into me, hard and fast. I screamed his name as I adjusted to him and Tye froze inside me at first, letting me adjust but soon he picked up a pace. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer to me and Tye complied, his hips meeting mine.

He bit at my neck and I whimpered, running my nails along his back, urging him closer to me. His voice broke as he spoke. “Shanna, fuck, do you know how long I wanted this?”

I felt myself let out a small laugh and I gripped him to me. When he hit that spot inside me I saw stars and groaned, my nails digging lightly into his shoulders. Soon though I could feel the orgasm building up and I moaned. “Tye, I’m going to,” I started to say but he snapped his hips hard at that moment and I lost my voice.

“Do it,” he said. “Right behind you.”

He drove into me harder, one hand going to my clit and I screamed as I came. Tye followed close behind, his yell of pleasure starting as mine ended. I could feel him release inside me and I shivered as he pumped into me a few more times.

He slid out of me and rolled to the side quickly, collapsing into the mattress. We both laid there, catching our breath. I looked at him, turning my head to the side.

“Tye?” I asked, my voice still shaking from pleasure.

“Yeah? He asked.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too,” he responded.


	8. Old Friends

 

The next day when I walked into the gym with Tye there was a shouting sound coming from down the hall. Tye and I froze and I leaned back out of the door only to see three men running like maniacs at me and Tye.

“Shanna!” the biggest of them shouted. Trent Seven, his height and stride giving him the advantage reached me first and grabbed me up, spinning me around as though I weighed nothing more than a loaf of bed.

I squealed and gripped around his neck, holding tight to him.

“Trent! What the hell?” I shouted.

“Aw, for fucks sake, put her down,” Pete Dunne’s voice demanded. When Trent stopped spinning me he did just that, putting me down, only to be scooped up by Pete and spun again.

“For fucks sake, spin me in the other direction at least!” I shouted. “I’m gonna puke.”

Pete dropped me quickly after that and I turned to see Tyler Bate, smiling sweetly at me. “Ugh, fine,” I said, opening my arms to him.

Tyler walked over and picked me up and, being the nice one, spun me slowly in the other direction.

“Uhm, Shanna, I know you wrestled in England but I didn’t realize I’d have to get used to strange British men spinning you in circles. Is this a monthly occurrence?” Tye asked, a smirk on his face.

Tyler put me down and the three guys introduced themselves to Tye though, obviously, no one really needed the introduction.

“We were her boys back in England,” Trent said by way of explanation.

“She traveled with us and kept us on schedule and we made sure no sleazy bastards pawed over her,” Tyler said, smiling at Tye.

Tye smiled as I went back to his side. “You guys are all here now, full time?” I asked.

“Nah, not quite full time yet. Soon enough though,” Pete said.

“I’m happy to see you guys, it was nuts the last week in England.”

“Oh what? You mean Regal scouting us for the tournament but stealing you away to get you back here to sign a contract ASAP and him flying you back first class for the tournament, making you mother us to death?” Trent said.

“Yes, that,” I said, laughing.

“That tournament was insane,” Tye added, shaking his head slightly. “Honestly I’m pretty jealous you all got the chance to be in that.”

Pete laughed and I was about to tell him to shut up, knowing his dirty humor, but he was quick with his words. “Yeah? We’re all jealous you get to be in that,” he said pointing at me. I thought about slapping him but Tyler saved me the trouble, quickly shoving Pete down the hall.

“Uncalled for, mate!” Tyler said, admonishing the older man.

Trent groaned and looked at Tye. “Ignore him. He’s a vulgar little shit.”

Tye, doing his best to remain calm shrugged and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “He’s not the only one jealous, I’m not dumb enough to think that no one else wants her.”

Trent shrugged. “You could slug him if you want. Put him in his place.”

I could feel Tye’s arms clench slightly, he was thinking about it.

I turned my head to look up at Tye and he looked at me. We were quiet for a minute and I knew Tye could see I felt bad that he was in the awkward position.  He leaned down and kissed me quickly as Tyler and Pete walked back.

“Sorry, mate,” Pete said, his jaw clenched. “Just a joke, really, no harm done. She’s more a sister anyway,” he added, trying to make amends. The sorry in and of itself was impressive, coming from Pete.

“No harm,” Tye said after he locked eyes with Pete for a moment.

Pete held out his hand, to seal the apology. Tye took his right arm from around me and shook it, the two of them nodded and letting go at the same moment.

“Dunne! Seven! Bate! Get your asses in gear!” Came the booming command from Matt Bloom.

“Yikes, that’s our cue,” Trent said. He leaned down and kissed my cheek, shook Tye’s hand and disappeared. Pete offered me a quick salute and Tyler came over, kissing the cheek opposite the one Trent had kissed.

“Sorry again, Tye,” Tyler said as they shook hands.

Tye shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, man. My girl’s hot, I know it.”

Tyler laughed. “Good thing you’re aware, we may have kept guys off of her but we wouldn’t tolerate ungrateful guys either,” he said, winking at Tye. Tye laughed and with that Tyler was gone.

I turned in Tye’s arms to look at him. “You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, Pete’s not wrong. People will be jealous.”

“I’m sure more people are jealous of my position,” I said, laughing.  

“Doubtful,” Tye said, leaning down to kiss me. When we pulled apart he bit my lower lip slightly. I shivered.

“Teasing me?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“You know I can tease you a lot better than that,” Tye promised.

He stole a quick kiss and we went to work out but, before he went his routine and I went mine he turned and caught my eye. “I’ll just have to show you later.” He winked and I groaned.

Fucking tease.

\--

We’d been home, at my place, for nearly an hour and I’d forgotten why we’d come back here. I knew I needed to get something from my place before spending the night at Tye’s but his promise to show me later had come to fruition nearly the second we’d closed and locked the front door.

Tye had grabbed me in his arms and carried me to my couch, holding me tightly in his lap as his lips attacked my neck. I whimpered and held on, laughing slightly at the intensity as my body shifted from post-workout laziness to sexual overdrive.

“What’s funny? Tye growled into my neck.

“Nothing,” I whimpered as he bit one spot particularly hard.

“That’s what I thought.”

He had continued to torture me and, eventually, he’d bent me over the side of the couch and fucked me so hard I’d have fallen down if his arms hadn’t held me up. We were still standing there, well, Tye was standing as I was folded over the side of my couch, Tye’s arms around me and his lips on my back.

“Shit…” I said, looking over my shoulder at him. “What brought that on?”

Tye smirked at me. “Been wanting to fuck you like that for a while now. Today seemed as good as any.” His right hand ran down my back and over my ass, gently as he checked all of me, slowly. “Didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I shook my head. “No, just, next time can we not do that on leg day?”

Tye laughed. “Luckily for us, today wasn’t my leg day.”


	9. Deception

 

I had heard Tye’s phone ring and rather than turning it off and rolling back over to wrap his arms around me Tye got up to take the call. But he didn’t stay in bed to talk, he slid out of bed and walked down the hall until I couldn’t hear him anymore.

I smiled to myself, his consideration and attempt to not wake me hadn’t worked but I appreciated the actions all the same. I sat up and stretched, a little sore from yesterday’s workout and post-workout activities. Going to the closet and grabbing the hoodie I’d left here I walked out of the room, heading downstairs to start making Tye’s coffee while he finished up whatever phone call he was on.

As I walked downstairs I passed the smaller spare bedroom and I could hear Tye a bit clearer, he hadn’t pulled the door shut all the way.

“Yes, you know that,” he said, his voice soft. He paused and groaned slightly. “No, that’s not happening. Ever.” Another pause. “You know I do…yes. Yes, I love you.”

I smiled to myself and continued on my way, the call sounding like one of the cyclical ones his niece Rylee often caught him in. She liked repetitive questions.

Once in the kitchen I pulled down the coffee and began making it, opening the fridge to stare at the contents and decide what to make for breakfast. I heard Tye’s feet on the stairs and he turned the corner into the kitchen and smiled at me.

“Morning, gorgeous,” he said, coming over to wrap his arms around me.

“Morning,” I said, smiling.

“Sorry I woke you.”

I shrugged. “Technically it was whoever was on the phone that woke me. “

“Yeah, Rylee. She was asking when I’d be home next.”

I laughed. “Knew it. Sounded like she had you over a barrel there as I walked by the room.” I grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured Tye his coffee, leaving him to fix it to his liking while I made myself some tea.

“What do you want for breakfast?” He asked.

I shrugged. “Do we have cheerios?” I asked.

“Yep, and soy milk,” he responded. I smiled.

“When did you get soy milk?” I asked.

“When I realized I didn’t want to deal with your stomach revolting if you had regular milk.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes, going back to the fridge and spotting the small carton of soy milk I hadn’t seen earlier.

“You want some, too?” I asked.

Tye nodded and went to grab the bowls while I grabbed the regular milk and Cheerios. We sat at his kitchen island, eating our cereal quickly.

“I’m gonna take Sheriff out,” he said.

I nodded and took our bowls to the sink, rinsing them before putting them into the dishwasher.

We got ready for work and headed to the performance center. We had a few segments and matches later that day to film and I had a meeting with all the other women on the NXT locker room as we did nearly every Tuesday.

The day went by in a blur and, when we left later I realized Tye was taking me home. “What’s the plan?” I asked.

“Couple errands to run, I’ve got to do some things with Shinsuke,” he said, smiling apologetically at me.

I smiled back. “That’s fine. Have fun,” I said, stealing a kiss before getting out of my car and heading inside.

Once inside I showered and made myself a quick, light dinner, put the second portion I had cooked automatically in a Tupperware to give Tye later or tomorrow. I laid out on my couch and watched some of the things that had built up on my DVR, doing my best to avoid falling asleep on my couch with my phone on the coffee table in front of me.

Around ten o’clock I went to bed.

Tye didn’t come home that night.

\--

When I got up the next morning I saw a text from Tye that came in around eleven the night before.

 **Tye:** Hey babe, sorry, Shin and I went to dinner and lost track of time. See you @ PC tomorrow?

I sighed and texted back.

 **Shanna:** Yes. See you there.

I ate breakfast quickly and showered, going to the Performance Center and, when I didn’t see Tye right away, I began working out.

My phone buzzed and when I finished my set of weighted squats I pulled out my phone and saw a text from Tye’s mother.

 **Tye’s Mom:** Rylee and McKenna wonder when Uncle Tye and Aunt Shanna will get up to Canada. I told them Christmas but Rylee insists that’s too far. She says she’s sick and needs “her faves”. How cute?

I smiled, feeling my heart swell.

 **Shanna:** Aw, she’s sick? What’s wrong?

 **Tye’s Mom:** Stomach bug, kid from school came in with it now half her class is out.

 **Shanna:** She’s been out sick?

 **Tye’s Mom:** She slept all day yesterday. Her fever broke, finally this morning.

Turning my recorder on I recorded a quick get well message and sent it to Tye’s Mom and his sister.

I went back to my workout, wondering if maybe Tye’s mom hadn’t known about Rylee calling Tye yesterday morning.

I shrugged it off, smiling when I saw Tye come in. He bee lined for me and came over, kissing me quickly.

“Morning,” I said, smiling.

“Morning, sorry about yesterday,” he said, pouting slightly. “Sheriff missed you.” He added.

“Oh, just Sheriff, huh? I know who my real boyfriend is then,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him. Tye laughed.

“Your mom messaged me this morning, said Rylee is sick. Did Rylee tell you about her stomach bug yesterday?” I asked.

Tye frowned. “Yeah, she did. Poor kid.”

“I sent a goofy video, may want to jump on the cheer up Rylee bandwagon,” I said, smiling.

Tye nodded his agreement and he began his workout.

Hours later, after I’d run drills with Mandy I waved to him, indicating I was heading home to shower. He winked back at me and I headed out, walking into Liv on the way out.

“Hey chica,” she said smiling.

“What’s up?” I said, smiling at her.

“Wanna grab some food?” She asked. “No Tye today?”

I laughed. “We do have lives, you know.”

“I know,” she laughed. “I just think it’s cute how you guys stick together.”

Liv and I went and got some food and my phone buzzed on the table. It was a text from Pete.

 **Pete:** Hey, where are you?

 **Shanna:** Out getting food, why?

 **Pete:** Just curious. Finished my workouts for the day and wondered if you needed a bite too. Catch you later, yeah?

I texted back my agreement and when I got home later sent a message to Tye, asking if he was coming over. He responded promising to be there in an hour or so.

I showered and when a knock on my door sounded, loudly, I was surprised. It wasn’t even close to the time Tye had said he’d be there.

I walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Pete, Trent and Tyler stood there. I opened my door and looked at them.

“What’s up guys?” I asked, smiling.

“We need to talk,” Trent said, his usually joyful tone gone as they walked in past me, standing around my living room.

“Where the fuck is he?” Pete said, looking around my apartment.

“Who?” I asked.

“Tye,” the three of them said together.

“He’s on his way over…what’s going on?” I asked.

“You need to get rid of that piece of shit,” Tyler said. I stared at him. Easily the friendliest and sweetest of the group Tyler was rarely the first to speak poorly of someone.

“Guys…what happened?” I asked.

They awkwardly looked at each other. Trent sighed and sat on my couch and motioned for me to sit too. Tyler sat on my other side and Pete sat on one of my stools.

“We went out last night, drinking, of course,” Trent said. “And we saw Tye last night.”

“Okay? He was out with Shinsuke, so what?”

“He wasn’t with Shinsuke,” Tyler said quietly. I turned to look at him.

“What?”

“We saw Shin there, yeah,” Trent said. I turned back to him. “But Tye was a bit preoccupied.”

“And Shin left with Sami.” Pete added in, cracking his knuckles.

“Guys, what are you saying?”

Tyler sighed and handed me his phone. On the screen was a picture of Tye, his arms wrapped around someone. His head pressed to hers…his lips not even an inch from hers.

I looked at the picture, stared at it.

“Where did you guys get this?”

“I took it…” Tyler said.

“Last night?” I asked.

Tyler nodded, taking his phone back as my hands began to shake.

\--

A knock on the door rang out through my apartment about half an hour later.

Pete got up and answered it. When Tye saw him he started to speak but Pete, exerting a lot of restraint I expected, grabbed Tye by his shirt and dragged him into the apartment, closing the door behind them. Pete stood in front of the door, his arms crossed.

I sat on the couch, my eyes locked on the coffee table in front of me.

“Did I miss something?” Tye asked.

Tyler shifted his weight as he stood closest to me, between me and Tye. Trent stood by the windows, his arms crossed, any joy gone from his face.

“We’re done,” I said, refusing to look up.

“What?” Tye asked. I wasn’t sure if he was asking me to repeat myself due to not understanding the context or because he couldn’t hear me.

“Your shit is over there,” Tyler said, pointing to a box that sat on my kitchen counter. In it was anything Tye had left here.

“What is going on, Shanna?” Tye said, looking to me.

“I said, we’re done.” I looked up then, the tears running down my face. I didn’t wipe them away. “It’s over. Take your shit and get out.”

“Shanna, baby, what’s wrong?” Tye asked, a hint of panic in his voice. He tried to walk to me and Tyler grabbed him and pushed him a few paces back.

“You touch her, we will fuck you up,” he promised in a low, even tone.

“Do you think I’m an idiot, Tye? I mean, yeah, my head was so far up your ass I probably wouldn’t have guessed it for a few more weeks but seriously, you think I’m that dumb? The guys saw you last night. Kissing whoever the fuck it was. Don’t need a fangirl, huh?” I asked, my voice rising.

“Shanna, I-”

“I don’t fucking care, Tye. I should’ve known something was up when you got a phone call and wouldn’t talk in front of me. You said it was Rylee but, according to your mother, Rylee was sleeping for the last few days and her fever finally broke today so, unless Rylee woke up and borrowed someone’s phone to call you, it wasn’t Rylee.”

Tye was quiet.

“So, who do you love, Tye?”

“What?”

“Who do you love? I heard you say it yesterday. It’s not me, that’s for sure.”

“That’s not true,” Tye started.

“Are you saying the guys didn’t see you last night?” I demanded, my voice raising. I stood then and walked over to Tye, Tyler stepping closer but not stopping me. I got so close to Tye I could feel the heat coming off of him. “It is true. So, last chance before Pete gets to go through with his original plan. Get. The. Fuck. Out.”

Tye looked around at each of the guys, his eyes falling back to me. “She’s not…she’s-”

“Dillinger,” Trent said, speaking for the first time. “I’m not the most violent one here but I can guarantee, right now, you will be lucky if Dunne’s hands reach you first. Get out.”

Tye stared at the larger man, then at Tyler and finally his eyes fell to Pete who had grabbed his box. Pete shoved it into his chest and then went and opened the door.

Tye looked to be weighing his options and his eyes were red rimmed now, tears in them. Crocodile tears but still, tears.  

He looked around and set his box on the coffee table. “Please, guys, let me talk to her.”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” I said quickly. “Go. We’re done.”

Tye turned quickly and left, his box on the table still. Trent grabbed the box and went to my window, throwing it open and tossing the box out of it into the parking lot below. Tye’s things must have spilled everywhere but I didn’t care. Pete slammed the door shut and locked it.

I fell to the floor, crying.


	10. Rearranging

 

I called Hunter that night, glad for the small favor that it was still early enough in the night I wouldn’t be disturbing him. He answered on the fourth ring.

“Hey, Shanna,” he greeted. “What’s going on?”

I tried to get the words out but couldn’t. Trent took my phone from my hands and spoke softly to Hunter, explaining for me. Tyler went to the kitchen, mumbling about making tea and Pete came over, scooping me up in his arms and walking me down the hall to my bedroom and laid me on my bed.

“Thankfully, you’re already in your pajamas,” Pete said. I stared up at him. “One less thing to do,” he said, shrugging.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked.

Pete sighed, wrapping my blankets around me.

“Nothing? Anything? I don’t know, love. Whatever you want to do.”

“Drink some tea?” Came Tyler’s voice as he balanced four cups of tea on the tray. Trent followed him into the room, placing my phone on my bedside table. I stared at Trent, waiting to hear what had happened.

“Hunter said he’s sorry you’re hurting. He said he’d talk to Bloom in the morning and they’d figure out a way to fix the storyline. Rearrange things.”

I nodded and took the mug Tyler offered me. Each of the guys took a mug. We all took a sip. I put the mug down as my phone began to ring. Tye.

I rejected the call.

“Want me to tell him to fuck off?” Pete said.

I shook my head. “He won’t. He’s stubborn.”

“He’s a real wanker,” Trent said.

I sighed. “Can we not play bash the boyfriend tonight?”

Tyler nodded and sat next to me. “We were going to stay, if that’s okay with you?”

I laughed. “Where? On the floor?”

Trent shrugged. “We’ve slept on worse floors.”

“I’ll be okay guys,” I said.

Pete sat on my other side. “I’m not going anywhere,” he stated. The decision he’d made would not change.

“Me either,” Tyler said.

“Yeah, like I’m the idiot to leave,” Trent added.

I started to cry some more, more from the fact that they were standing by me than anything else. Pete’s arms, lightning-quick, wrapped around me. Tyler rejected Tye’s next call. Trent went rooting in my linen closet for blankets.

Then, Tyler’s phone rang. “It’s Becky,” he said.

I waved a hand. Of course Becky already knew.

Tyler answered. “Yeah, Becks, we’re here with her. No, we’re not leaving.” He was quiet a moment. “No, we didn’t rip him up. She wouldn’t let us.” More silence. He looked at me. “Do you want to talk to her?”

I shook my head no. Tyler relayed the message, said okay a few times and hung up.

Everyone’s phones rang that night. Pete turned his off, right after he turned mine off. Trent had his on silent and Tyler kept his on vibrate, in case someone truly did need to reach them.

I fell asleep, curled against Pete on my bed. Pete slept sitting up next to me. Tyler fell asleep in a pile of blankets on my floor and Trent was asleep in the chair in my room.

When I woke up the next morning and saw them sitting there, everything rushed back to me. I cried as quietly as I could and turned my phone on. It was barely five AM. I’d only slept a few hours.

I saw I had sixty-four missed calls. Most from Tye. A few from others he probably called. There were twenty-nine text messages from Tye alone.

As I looked at the number of missed correspondences I saw a text from Hunter appear.

 **Hunter:** Talked it out with Matt. Stay home and get some rest. We’ll talk to Tye and everyone else. We didn’t tell Regal yet, we sent Tye home for fear of his life when Regal hears. The UK boys get the day off too. Sorry kid, really am.

I replied, thanking Hunter.

Pete shifted next to me. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Day off, for all of us.”

“Did Regal hear yet?” Tyler mumbled from the floor.

“They’re telling him soon.”

“Good, Regal will call us to dispose of the body at least,” Pete said.

I sighed and laid back down, Pete’s hand going to my hair and brushing it back. I fell back asleep almost immediately.

I slept all day. The UK boys stayed there, just to be there for me. I woke up around four o’clock that afternoon and looked up to see Tyler sitting there. “Tyler?” I asked.

“Hey,” he said softly, coming over to me.

“What do I do wrong?” I asked.

“What?”

“Every guy…all of them, cheats.”

Tyler sighed. “That’s on them, love. Not you. Do you want some water?”

I shrugged. Tyler sighed and stood, going out of my room and into my kitchen. When he came back Pete and Trent were behind him. He handed me my water and I took it, taking a sip. Trent sat next to me and his hand found the middle of my back, rubbing a small circle there.

“Where’s my phone?” I asked, looking for it.

“You sure you want it?” Trent asked.

I nodded. “I want to call Hunter, find out what we’re doing about work.”

Pete handed me my phone. I unlocked it and immediately swiped to ignore all the missed calls and text messages. I called Hunter.

“We figured out a temporary fix,” Hunter said. “Tye is going to record a clip of him telling Roderick and Jose that you two have agreed that you can’t be at ringside, that Young is too dangerous.”

“That makes me sound weak, afraid.”

“Well we had only one alternative for you for right now, for this week’s taping.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s that or you film that argument with Tye and then go and attack Nikki backstage when she taunts you. She can hit you with something serious and you can be in the medical care during Tye’s match. It gives you an excuse. It’s just a fix for this week.”

I sighed and bit my lip. “When do we film?”

“You sure?” Hunter asked.

“I’m a professional. Let’s just get it done,” I said.

“Tomorrow. Be at the center at ten. We’ll get it over with early.”

I sighed. “Thanks Hunter. Sorry about all this.”

He laughed lightly. “Kid, it’s not the first time we’ve had to rework things.  Besides, let me remind you, Matt and I asked you and Tye for this angle on screen. You did us the favor.”

“Yeah, it just blew up in all our faces though.”

“Yeah,” Hunter sighed. “Get some rest.”

“Thanks, see you tomorrow.”

We hung up.

\--

The next morning I woke up and got ready, doing my best to look like I hadn’t spent over twenty-four hours in bed. Tyler, Trent and Pete came with me to the Performance Center, acting like body guards. I went and found Hunter who was, unfortunately, discussing the segment with Tye already.

“Shanna,” Hunter said, waving me over.

Tye turned quickly and I noticed he didn’t look so good. Tired, pale. I felt a small, vindictive thrill at that but the rest of me wanted to run to him and make everything better.

“Hey,” Tye choked out.

“Hey,” I said.

“Okay, so you both know the deal. Tye, you’re going to be telling Shanna she can’t come to the ring tonight for your match against Eric Young. You’re going to argue, I don’t need to tell either of you how to do that. Eventually Tye, you get her to promise to stay backstage and safe tonight. Okay? Shanna, right after you’re going to walk away angry. We’ll cut away to a match then cut to Nikki taunting you about the fight with Tye. You two fight. She hits you hard. You go down.”

“What is Nikki hitting her with?” Tye asked.

“We’ll work that out with Nikki and Shanna,” Hunter said.  Tye nodded, swallowing back his next question.

“Okay, get set up, get yourselves in check and do this.”

I looked at Tye and shifted my weight. Pete, Tyler and Trent were standing twenty feet away and were probably the only reason I wasn’t falling apart right now.

“Shanna?” Tye said, getting my attention on him.

“Yeah?” I asked, clearing my throat.

Tye began to speak but was cut off by Hunter who brought the camera over. He positioned us, closer than I would’ve liked. Before he walked away he fixed us with a look. We both understood. Get the work done. Deal with the bullshit later.

The camera light went on and Tye reached out to me carefully, like he’d done a million times before.

“Shanna, look, I know you can handle yourself out there but-”

“But nothing Tye,” I snapped, cutting him off and stepping back half a step to ensure that he couldn’t touch me anymore. “You say you think I can handle myself but telling me to not be out there tonight, not allowing me to be there to keep Nikki under control is telling me you don’t trust me.”

The word trust made Tye flinch a little.

“It’s not that,” Tye said, sighing, letting one hand run through his hair.

“Then what is it?” I asked.

“I won’t forgive myself if Young hurts you again. If any of those guys do. Just, please, for tonight, stay in the back?”

I sighed and looked down at my shoes, crossing my arms over my chest before looking back up at him. “Just for tonight,” I said, my voice sharp.

“Thank you,” Tye said. He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

The camera light went off, Hunter pronounced the clip good a minute later after he reviewed it and, just like that, I was gone.

\--

I filmed the scene with Nikki. She taunted me about being controlled by Tye, about being his little play thing. I attacked her and she fought back. From there, once on the ground, Nikki grabbed a chair and hit me over the back with it. The spot was good but the hit still stung. A few more hits and security broke us up.

Tye, Roderick and Jose ran over, helping me up and away to the trainer’s office. Once there they legitimately checked me out before clearing me, my part done for the day.

I went to leave and when I had my bag in hand I was going to find Pete, Trent and Tyler when Tye found me first.

“Shanna, can we talk?”

“No,” I said, not looking at him, rushing past him.

“Please? Let me explain?”

I stopped walking and turned to face him, dropping my purse. “Explain what? How you ditched me for a night and, one night alone, you went to a bar with Shin and left with someone you just met? Or, explain how you played all the next day that everything was fine? That I didn’t find out from you, but from Pete, Tyler and Trent? Were you going to tell me? Or would you just keep it to yourself, string me along?”

My yelling at Tye had drawn some attention.

Tye’s face reddened at all the eyes on him.

“Get tha fuck away from her,” came Pete’s voice. He came from behind me, moving past me quickly, immediately getting into Tye’s face, nose to nose. Trent came and tried to steer me away, Tyler grabbing my purse off the floor.

“What are you gonna do, Dunne? Huh?” Tye challenged.

“I could rip you in half if she’d let me,” Pete threatened, his voice low.

“No, you couldn’t. And even if she’d let you, you wouldn’t because let’s face it, you need this job, this place, this company. Before this you were nothing. Just because I fucked up doesn’t mean she’s stupid enough to sink low enough to fuck you.”

That pushed me over the edge. Shrugging out of Trent’s grip, moving faster than he’d expected, I stalked over to Tye, inserting myself between him and Pete before pulling my arm back and slapping Tye hard across the face.

“Don’t you ever, ever, talk down to Pete or any of them again,” I hissed. “Unlike you, they’re actually decent to me.”

Tye lifted his gaze back to me, his eyes wide and his cheek already red.

I took Pete’s hand and turned to walk away, grabbing my purse as we went. I stopped though and turned back, releasing Pete’s hand and going back to Tye. “Remember this, if you remember nothing else. I trusted you, I loved you. And you threw it out for a piece of ass. So, who I spend my time with, who I talk to, who I fuck, is not your concern anymore because it won’t be you.”

We left, Trent driving as I cried in the backseat, my head in Tyler’s lap.

I heard later, from Liv, that Tye’s match had ended in no contest. He’d gone out and it looked like Young would fight without SAnitY but soon they dragged out a beaten up Roderick Strong. This distracted Tye. Jose came out and checked on Roderick with Tye and the fans began to chant my name. The chant ended when a brawl broke out, Tye and Jose getting beaten down.

When Liv finished telling me how the storyline was progressing she was quiet. A rarity for her.

“What, Liv?” I asked.

“I just…I know you don’t want to hear it but I know that Tye is sorry. It’s killing him. He barely got backstage before breaking down.”

“He did this Liv, not me.”

“I know,” she said. “And I hate him for it. Still, I feel bad for both of you.”

I sighed. “I’m going to go shower.”

When the call was over I looked at my phone and finally decided I’d have to deal with all the unread messages and voicemails on my phone.

I showered, made a cup of tea and sat on my couch, scrolling through them all. I deleted them as I went but stopped when I saw the quick succession of the last messages he’d sent.

 **Tye:** Shanna, please, answer the phone

 **Tye:** Let me explain what happened.

 **Tye:** I love you, please just answer the phone.

 **Tye:** Shanna?

 **Tye:** Do you hate me now?

 **Tye:** I’m sorry.

 **Tye:** Please…

Before these messages were sweet ones from Tye. Ones from when things were okay. I sighed, exhausted, unable to delete anymore of Tye from my life tonight. I fell asleep with my face turned towards the side of the bed where Tye normally slept.


	11. Confrontation

 

A few weeks had gone by and Tye and I had managed to keep the storyline going, Hunter writing into it us drifting apart due to Tye’s obsession with getting rid of SAnitY and Eric Young.  It was a Friday and I, along with the UK boys, had been invited out for a drink and some food by Mustafa Ali for his birthday. A cruiserweight making his way up the ranks Mustafa had been trading workout techniques with the guys, showing them different things and even helping me with practicing my flips.

Tyler, Trent and Pete had stuck by me the entire time and when I insisted they must be bored of hanging out with me Trent had kissed my cheek and reassured me that this wasn’t pity, it’s just what friends did. So, that night, the four of us walked into a local bar not far from Trent’s place and I was glad it was mostly guys there tonight. I loved the girls but, at least with the guys, I didn’t have to get dressed up.

I’d driven the guys there and when Tyler came back with his drink he handed me a club soda and lime. I smiled and took it, taking a sip as we wound our way to the back area of the bar that the other wrestlers had taken over, swarming over the pool tables there.  I went over and handed Mustafa the small gift we’d picked up for him, some new crossfit gloves and he hugged me tightly in thanks, shaking hands with the UK boys.

We spread out, me trailing near one of them at any given time but also talking with others, joking a laughing. It was the first night I’d been out and not had a breakdown about it beforehand. I knew Tye would be there, eventually, but for now I was having fun.

The music got louder and the guys kept drinking. I laughed as Rich Swann spun me in a circle and we had a joking dance off which ended in a fit of laughter from me. Brian Kendrick rolled his eyes and said “That’s not how you spin a lady,” and he caught my hand, spinning me away from him before spinning me back into his body and dipping me.

I laughed and held on to him, trusting his strength but surprised by the speed. When he set me straight I quickly realized this was going to turn into a contest so I broke away from the group to go get myself another club soda with lime, waving down the shouts of another round, indicating I’d order them.

When I got to the bar I had to lay practically over it to get the busy bartender’s attention. He came over and apologized to me for the wait.

“You’re with the crowd back there?” he asked.

“Yeah, I need a club soda and lime for me and they all want another round of whatever their last drink was,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Their tabs, of course.”

He laughed and fixed my drink for me, handing it over. I slid him the money and he said he’d have the waitresses bring out the drinks to the guys. When I got back to the crowd I stopped for a moment, seeing Tye had arrived and was talking with Kendrick.

I turned quickly and walked over to Tyler who was sitting in a chair, watching Pete and Trent play for who bought the next round.

There were no seats available so I simply climbed into Tyler’s lap and held on tightly, turning my face away from Tye. Tyler, slightly shocked for a moment, held on to me out of instinct before looking around. When he saw Tye he sighed.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked.

“No,” I said, quietly but determined. “I just needed to not be caught like a deer in the headlights when he saw me,” I said.

Tyler nodded. “Ah, diversion tactics.”

“Sorry Tyler,” I said, smiling at him.

“Oh yes, do keep apologizing for putting your gorgeous ass in my lap. Makes perfect sense,” he said, laughing as he took a pull from his beer bottle.

I laughed as Trent and Pete came over, Pete handing Trent some money for the drinks.

“All good over here?” Trent asked.

Tyler smirked up at him. “Perfect,” he said, indicating to me on his lap.

“Now, now, don’t hog her,” Pete said, reaching down and scooping me out of Tyler’s lap, bridal style. He spun me around, making me laugh.

“Pete, put me down, you’ll make yourself dizzy,” I said. Pete slowed down and walked over to the pool table, setting me down on its edge. He stood in front of me, forcing my legs apart slightly so he could lean close to me, his lips against my ear. My heart raced because, even though I knew Pete wouldn’t try anything his closeness was making my heart race anyway.

“You sure you’re okay?” He whispered.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I whispered back. My heart rate slowed down a little, switching from racing because of Pete’s proximity to remembering Tye’s presence.

“I have to tell you something,” Pete said, clearing his throat. I nodded for him to continue. “I hate seeing you so fucking sad.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, pulling back to look at him.

“You’re good about a brave face and all that,” he started, keeping his voice low. “But I know you miss him.”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. He was wrong for me, clearly.”

“If he’d never done that, what do you think you’d be doing right now?” Pete asked. It was one of Pete’s favorite games, the hypothetical questions.

I shrugged. “We’d be here. But he’d be standing with his arms around me as we talked to everyone. If it hadn’t happened maybe you guys would even be friends by now.”

“Maybe,” he said, his voice trailing off as he looked over my shoulder then back to me. “He misses you,” Pete said as he locked eyes on me again.

I sighed. “Why are you saying this Pete? How many have you had?”

“Look, speaking as a guy who fucks up regularly I’m not telling you to go running back to him but I’m saying he did genuinely seem to care about you. I’ve never seen anyone look at you like that.” I didn’t have anything to say in response so I waited. “You know something funny?” Pete said, half laughing to himself.

“What’s that?’ I asked.

“As much as I want to rip the fucker apart, I feel sorry for him too. To lose someone like you can’t be easy.”

“So, what are you saying Pete?”

“If he still wanted to talk to you about it, would you?”

I shrugged. I didn’t think Tye would come near me, especially surrounded like I was by the guys.

“Why do you care so much, Pete?”

He sighed and took my hand, pulling me out of the noisy area and outside. Once out there, it was quiet. He looked down at me and shook his head to himself. “Look, I hate him for what he did. No one should do that to someone they love, let alone you. But…Tye came to talk to me last week.”

“He did what?” I asked.

“Yeah, he said he just needed to tell someone his side. Don’t know why he chose me. Tyler would’ve been the easier option.”

“So you talked to Tye? About me?”

“Yeah,” Pete said, shifting his weight.

“So? What’s the point of this Pete? Will you just say whatever you want?”

“Tye was jealous.”

I stared at Pete. The words didn’t fit. “Jealous of what?”

“You and your relationship with all of us. I think I especially worried him. My joke about being in you on that first day didn’t help. That’s what he said anyway. He said he was convinced that if you and I hadn’t fooled around in London that I’d come here hoping to get you in my bed.”

I laughed at the absurdity. “So? What does that have to do with everything?”

“Look, guys, we’re fucking idiots, alright? We don’t make sense. We fuck things up. He got scared and jealous. And he fucked up the best thing he could’ve ever had because he thought we had been something. So, he went and made a mistake. One I don’t advise you forgiving him for, mind you. But…I just wanted you to know what I know. Keep everything honest.”

I sighed and we turned to go back inside when I stopped. Pete turned to look at me. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Can you…can you tell Tye I want to talk to him?” I asked.

Pete looked at me, not saying anything for a moment but then nodded. “If you all aren’t done in fifteen minutes though I’m coming out here to check on ya.”

He disappeared inside and I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting and pacing a little. It felt like an eternity. Maybe Tye didn’t want to talk anymore?

I heard the door to the bar open and I turned. Tye stood there, letting the door close behind him, his eyes a little wider than usual. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans and he walked over to me, his eyes on me but not meeting mine.

“Pete said you wanted to talk?” he said, sounding uncertain.

“Can you tell me the truth about something?” I asked, trying to keep the edge out of my voice though, given the wince I knew I’d failed.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Why did you go talk to Pete last week?”

“He said he told you.”

“He told me what the conversation was about. I want to know why go to Pete? Why now?”

Tye sighed and looked at his feet before looking up at me. “Because I’m an asshole. Because I fuck shit up and then when I can’t fix it I don’t accept that and I’m stubborn and then I become more of an asshole. It’s a vicious cycle.”

“Tye, be serious.”

“That was serious. And true. Why Pete? Because I knew that if I went to Tyler or Trent you’d think they were just feeling bad for me and trying to patch things up. I knew if Pete agreed to tell you what I said you’d listen to him because you know he doesn’t exactly like me.”

“And why tell him all this now?”

Tye looked up at me and shook his head slowly, as if not believing or comprehending what I’d said. “Can’t you tell?” he asked. “Look at me. I’m a fucking mess,” he said and sniffed once, averting his gaze quickly.

I took half a step back and looked at him. _Really_ looked at him. He was paler which, given that we were in Florida was a bit odd. He was tired looking too, dark circles under his eyes. His eyes themselves seemed a little bloodshot and, while that could be from alcohol I had noticed they’d seemed tinged like this lately. He turned sideways slightly, glancing at the door as a group of people left the bar and got into a cab. It was then I noticed the thing that worried me the most. Tye was thinner, too.

I uncrossed my arms. “Have you been eating? Sleeping?”

Tye shrugged. “A bit.”

“Tye…” I started and my voice drifted off. Who was I to lecture him? He looked at me appraisingly and motioned at me as if it say “speak for yourself.”

Silence fell. I looked at him and felt just how badly I missed him.

“So…you were worried? About me and the guys? About Pete?”

“It sounds stupid, I know, but yeah, I was. I guess I always expect the worst but when I saw how they all ran to you, saw you holding onto them, hugging them, the joking…I felt like it was a part of you I’d never touch, never get close to.”

“Tye I traveled with those guys for nearly a year and a half, of course we’re close.”

“Yeah and it’s one thing to know that and a whole other thing to not be worried about it. I know you’re not the type to sleep around, I know you’re better than me, but I was still worried.”

“So you went to the bar with Shinsuke?”

Tye nodded. “He wanted to leave and I didn’t. I was determined to drink away the fear so I could go home to you.”

“What changed?”

Tye sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. I could see them shaking.

“Remember that phone call you heard?” he asked. My throat felt tight, too tight to talk. So I just nodded. “That was my ex.”

Knife meet heart.

“So when you said “I love you” it was to her?” Tye nodded, looking ashamed, his eyes falling back to the ground.

“So, was it her? At the bar?”

Tye sighed and looked at the dark sky above him, avoiding my gaze for a full minute before he looked at me again. He nodded.

My heart sank further as the knife twisted a little deeper. I wiped at my eyes, already feeling the sting of tears there. Tye took a step towards me but then stopped. He didn’t want to risk getting to close to me.

“Did you fuck her?” I asked, wiping tears away again, finally able to see clearly again so I could look at him.

“No.”

I sighed, not sure if I believed him. “Did you want to?”

“Yes.”

“And she would have?”

Tye hesitated a second then nodded.

“So, why didn’t you then. You were with her, making out. Someone you knew. Why not take her home and fuck her?”

“I had you and even though I was a fucking idiot to tell her what bar I was at and to spend time with her I knew that I couldn’t do that to you.”

I stared at him. “I’m not sure I believe all that,” I said, honestly.

Tye sighed. “I’m not stupid enough to think that you would, or that you’d trust me again. I’m just glad you know the truth now and that you can look at me again. I’m sorry Shanna, I really am about all of it.”

“I know Tye.”

He sighed and looked at me, his eyes watering slightly. “You hate me though, don’t you?”

I sighed. “I don’t think I hate you. I hate what you did. You can’t go from love to hate that fast, Tye.”

“So, what do we do now?”

I paused, thinking for a minute.

“Now? We go inside, sing happy birthday to Mustafa. Monday, we have that meeting with Hunter about the storyline. I can’t pretend to be with you on screen and not be with you in real life. And right now I can’t be with you in real life.”

“What do you think will happen?” Tye asked.

I shrugged. “We’ll find out Monday.”

Side by side we walked back in the bar. The anger, although not gone completely, had loosened its hold my heart. On Monday we’d see what came next.


	12. An Accident

 

On Monday everything seemed almost normal again, except for the slight awkwardness that still remained between me and Tye. We all worked out before our meeting with Hunter and, inside the small conference room we met with Hunter and everyone who'd be involved in the storyline. That meant all of SAnitY, Tye, Jose, Roderick and myself all sat around an oval table. 

 

I set between Tye and Jose, Roderick on Tye's other side. Across from us was SAnitY and I was in the exact seat opposite Nikki. We nodded cordially to each other and turned to look at Matt Bloom, William Regal and Hunter.

 

"Okay, we all know that things are constantly changing. At Takeover: Orlando we're going to put a lot of things into effect. For all of you that means a huge shift in the storyline. You all know we like taking risks here at NXT. So, at Orlando that's what all of you are going to do."

 

My eyes caught Nikki's before I instinctively turned to look at Tye. He locked eyes with me and nodded at me, squeezing my forearm encouragingly, briefly. It was the first time he'd touched me in so long and I'd forgotten how warm he was.

 

I closed my eyes briefly before turning to look back at Hunter. He'd let us all take in his words. Now he would tell us his ideas on how to do it.

 

"You all have pushed the envelope and we all know everyone in this room is tough and able to take big hits. We were thinking of pushing the envelope just a bit farther."

 

"We want to push SAnitY so far into the heel category that there is no foreseeable redemption," Matt Bloom said, taking over the conversation. "To do that, we need to let the women play a bigger role."

 

I could feel Tye tensing next to me but I didn't look at him or Nikki. I stared at Matt.

 

"Shanna," Hunter began, leaning forward slightly. "You can turn down the idea, counter at any point and you have full rights to back out." I nodded for him to continue. "Regal tells me you've been put through a table before."

 

I stared at Hunter for a moment, his words swirling around my head. 

 

"No way," Tye said, shaking his head stiffly. I turned to look at him.

 

"Tye, with all due respect, it's not your choice," Hunter said, holding up a hand, forestalling any further commentary for Tye. "It's Shanna's."

 

I felt everyone in the room look at me. I kept my eyes on Hunter, Regal and Bloom.

 

"Who is gonna put me through the table? How?"

 

Tye slammed his fists on the table and pushed away from it. I stared at him then looked at Hunter, asking for a minute without saying a word.

 

"Take five minutes, everyone cool off, get your heads around the idea."

 

Tye walked out of the room and I went after him. A single camera, out of the two that had been filming the meeting for Breaking Ground, followed us out. He walked away quickly, finding a nearby hallway empty. He put his head and arms against the wall, his body tense.

 

"Tye?" I asked, coming over and placing a hand on his shoulder. I waved the camera man off and he walked down the hall, the lens on us but well out of reach from the microphone.

 

He turned to look at me and his arms fell to his sides, defeated. "You're gonna let them do it?" He asked.

 

"Tye...it's the best thing for all of us right now. Can you imagine the feud after it? Can you predict how over we'll be with the fans?"

 

"I don't care about that," he said, his voice solid but still sounding distant.

 

"Tye, tables aren't a big deal. Hunter will make sure I'm safe."

 

"A lot can go wrong," he insisted.

 

"What has you so worked up about this?" I asked, crossing my arms.

 

My questioning his motives broke Tye. He crouched down, trying to ball himself up but I crouched too, getting into his personal space, sliding my arms under his and around his neck, putting my forehead on his and making him lock eyes with me.

 

"Tye, what's going on?"

 

He sighed and didn't speak. I waited. Eventually his arms came around me, pulling me closer to him. I didn't pull away, I just waited for him to talk.

 

"Friday was the first time we've talked, outside of work, and I thought I could move forward as friends, be okay with this. I fucked up, I shouldn't get what I want all the time. But then today I see you and it's just like before, wanting you, needing to be near you but its worse. I tried to just act like a professional but then they want to put you through a table and...I can't take that. I can't see that."

 

"Tye, our business is getting beat up. It's rough. I don't like you getting beat down or chair shots, getting hit when someone cheap shots you from behind. But it's our job. Besides, you wouldn't like anything with me taking a big bump. You wouldn't agree to anything."

 

Tye sighed and I kissed his forehead, feeling my throat constrict at the skin to skin contact. I pulled back and locked eyes with him. "Let's go hear them out. Okay?"

 

Tye and I went back into the meeting room and everyone settled back down. Hunter looked at me and waited.

 

"I'll do it," I said.

 

The room was quiet for a minute before Roderick leaned back in his chair and looked at me closely. "And who is putting her through the table?" He asked.

 

"That's where we want input.  We need to do this right. It'll be after the match but what we need to see is all of SAnitY involved."

 

"What if," came the surprisingly soft voice of Killian Dain. "Me, Wolfe and Young keep those guys back and Nikki puts her through?"

 

I looked at Nikki and she shrugged. I shrugged back.

 

Hunter nodded, thinking it over. "I think, to really mess with people, we need this to be about Young torturing Tye with this. I'm not saying Nikki can't put her through but I think we need Roderick and Jose to be so beat down they can't help. And we'll need Tye forced to watch it."

 

"Like when you were handcuffed and Randy RKO'ed Stephanie?" Jose asked.

 

"Exactly," Hunter said.

 

I felt Tye shift closer to me. He didn't touch me but was just being protective. 

 

"Why don't we do it like that then?" came Nikki's voice. "I'm not in the match so how about, towards the end of the match we handcuff the guys?"

 

"Where do I fit?" I asked. "I haven't been coming down to the ring lately." I motioned vaguely to the guys and Tye.

 

"What do you think should happen?" Bloom asked.

 

\--

 

The meeting lasted another hour, everyone going back and forth on what they thought should happen. 

 

We had a few weeks to prep for the match, to increase the tension on shows, and Tye wasn't happy about it. Nikki and I had lunch the day before Wrestlemania weekend kicked off. Thursday was the last day off for any of you for a while.

 

"Are you ready, for Saturday?" she asked.

 

I shrugged and sipped my water.

 

"I'll be careful," she promised.

 

"Me too."

 

\--

 

Takeover: Orlando.

 

The show had been nearly perfect so far. The fans were on their feet. Everyone was running on adrenaline this weekend. I'd been star struck a few times by the Hall of Famers walking around.

 

It was time for our match. Tye and I had been spending time together again but there was the undercurrent of tension. As he stood in the back, his outfit on, the number ten everywhere he came over to me and grabbed my hands.

 

"Come out with me?" he asked.

 

We'd planned to all go out separately. "What about Hunter?"

 

"I'm okay with it," came Hunter's voice from behind me. I looked at him and nodded before looking back at Tye who squeezed my hands hard. Hunter came over to us, a hand on each of our shoulders. “Go. Have a great match. Be careful," he said.

 

We watched Roderick go out. Then Jose. While Jose danced my stomach began to clench.

 

Nikki passed us, her gear on, and she gave me a pat on the shoulder. I nodded to her then looked at Tye.

 

"I'm terrified," I admitted.

 

Tye grabbed my face in his, pressing our foreheads together. "Me too. Let's just get through it. Yeah?"

 

I felt my stomach knot up more but I nodded. Tye smiled and kissed the corner of my mouth. I shivered as we broke apart. He took my hand and his music hit.

 

He went out first, showing off the large ten on his jacket. When the song shifted I stepped out too and the crowd cheered. Clearly, us being together was something they wanted. Tye and I walked to the ring but I shooed him ahead of me to do his thing. I climbed the stairs and watched as he held up his sign. The crowd roared. Tye came over to me and sat on the second rope, holding it open for me and winking.

 

I rolled my eyes but accepted the gesture, climbing into the ring. Roderick and Jose clapped, clearing the way from the turnbuckle I tended to use for my entrance. I climbed up and the fans cheered. I clapped for the fans and looked around, smiling hugely when I saw, right in the front row, Tye's family. All of them except for baby McKenna and a few others, his brother-in-law probably in the back holding the baby. I looked to Tye who smiled at my excitement of seeing his family. Rylee held a sign up saying, "Shanna's my superhero" with hearts all over it.

 

My heart broke at that. I turned to look at Tye and pointed. He smiled at me and then pointed to the other side of the ring. My family sat there, cheering, all wearing either my shirt, Tye's shirt and my brothers each wearing a Roderick and Jose shirt.

 

I jumped off the turnbuckle and ran to greet my family, Tye sliding out to kiss his family members.

 

"Be careful, sis," my older brother ordered. I caught his eye and shook my head slightly. "Remind Mom it's planned," I said. His eyes grew disapproving but what could he do? I rounded the ring and went to Tye's family, hugging them each tightly. Rylee hugged me fiercely and when SAnitY's music hit she clung tighter. 

 

"It's okay Rylee, Uncle Tye will be fine. We'll all be ok," I promised. She nodded and slid back to her seat.

 

Tye and I climbed into the ring and squared off as SAnitY entered. We all stood, staring down our equivalent in the other group. Nikki's crazy side was out and I glared at her. The ref tried forcing us all to our corners and the moment we were all at our starting points the bell rang and the place exploded. 

 

Tags were made, big moves were landed, and as it started to wind down I knew my moment was coming. Nikki and I had been stalking each other around the ring all night but then she went one step further. I saw her toss the handcuffs to Wolfe and then she went to Tye's niece Rylee. She grabbed Rylee's sign and tore it in half. I charged her and as we struggled, Jose and Roderick were chained to the diamond patterned guard rail that ran along the sides of the entrance ramp. Tye was against Eric. The ref couldn't stop the match, Tye and Eric were legal right now. SAnitY jeered and I finally hit a DDT on Nikki on the outside. Tye, taking advantage of the overconfidence of Young hit him a few times, the pair going back and forth. I ran to Roderick and Jose and went under the ring to find bolt cutters. In the ring, Tye hit the Tyebreaker. 

 

I waved to security to help Roderick and Jose as Tye got the pin fall but, as planned, there were no bolt cutters found under the ring.

 

When the ref counted three the fans cheered so loud I couldn't hear anything else. I rushed to Tye's sister, knowing what was coming next and hugged her quickly before whispering "Cover Rylee's eyes."

 

I turned just as the beat down started. All of SAnitY was in the ring, kicking and punching Tye. I dove under the ring again and came up with a chair. Quickly, I climbed the top rope and, taking aim at Killian Dain I jumped off, bringing the chair onto his back. This broke everything up. I swung for Wolfe next, hitting him in the stomach. I turned and got a blow on Nikki's arm and shoulder before Eric Young grabbed me by the hair. Dain grabbed the chair from me. Fans were booing.

 

Roderick and Jose were shouting. Security and the referees were shouting.

 

Young turned me to face him and, without a sign of remorse, kneed me in the stomach. Tye tried to rally but was taken down by Dain and Wolfe. Young kept his grip on my hair.

 

Young, keeping me secure with one hand, shoved Nikki with the other. “Get the table,” he commanded.

 

I could hear Tye shouting. Eric taunted Tye, laughing at him. I tried to get out of Young’s hold but he hit me in the stomach again and kept his hold on my hair. Nikki brought a table into the ring and Dain took both of Tye’s arms as Wolfe moved to help Nikki setup the table. When it was setup Wolfe moved back and grabbed Tye’s face from behind, making his eyes focus on the table. Roderick shouted, cursing. Jose was screaming at security to get bolt cutters, cursing at them in two languages. Tye began to beg.

 

“Eric, don’t, please,” He said. I heard his voice crack and that made me wince. Tye, even though he knew what was coming, was still scared. Eric pushed me to Nikki. As she hit me on the back a few times she leaned down, keeping me in headlock. “Are you ready?”

 

“Yes,” I said.

 

Young climbed on top of the table and motioned for me to be passed to him. Nikki pushed me onto the table, hitting the back of my neck and shoulders a few more times. Young grabbed my feet and, when he tensed I prepared for the bump.

 

The wheelbarrow neck breaker hurt normally. Going through a table hurt much more. The table gave way perfectly, the move was done perfectly. Still, once it was over I knew something was wrong.

 

Dain and Wolfe let Tye go and he rushed to me, his eyes raking over me.

 

“Shanna?” he asked. I kept my eyes closed. He leaned down, his hands on either side of my head. “Shanna?”

 

“Tye,” I whispered, feeling my chest tighten. “Something’s wrong, it hurts,” I said, pointing to my chest and stomach. Tye waved for medics. Roderick and Jose were free and ran to the ring, sliding in next to Tye. I opened my eyes and saw Tye and he was close to tears.

 

The medics came in and checked me out, forcing Tye aside. I reached for him and winced, the pain severe. I couldn’t breathe right. I told the medics. They got a backboard in the ring and moved me, carefully. “Check my family, check on your family,” I said to Tye as they loaded me on the stretcher. Tye was gone for a moment as they buckled me onto it. He was back then, pushing a medic aside and taking my hand, his eyes flashing between fear and anger.

 

Hunter was there when we got backstage. The Breaking Ground cameras were there too. Regal came from the production room too, his eyes concerned.

 

“You’re going to the hospital,” Hunter said.

 

“Yeah, figured that part out,” I said, trying to joke.

 

“Who do you want to ride with you?” Hunter asked as we walked to the ambulance. I saw Trent, Pete and Tyler fall in line with the crowd following my stretcher.

 

We got to the ambulance and I wouldn’t release Tye’s hand. “Ride with me?” I asked.

 

Tye looked to Hunter who nodded. Tye jumped in we were off to the hospital. Along the way I felt myself shifting in and out of consciousness.

 

\--

 

Four hours and many tests later we had our answer. I’d broken two ribs and severely bruised the rest. My head was spinning but I had no concussion, thankfully.

 

Once the doctors said it was okay Tye was by my bed, an anxious look on his face. He had on jeans and a t-shirt now. “Who brought your clothes?” I asked.

 

“Tyler, Trent and Pete grabbed it. They’re outside waiting to come in, doctors said we all couldn’t be in at once.”

 

I laughed lightly and winced. “Bet that went over well with them,” I said.

 

Tye laughed a little. “Nope. Do you want me to step out so they can come in?”

 

I sighed. “I don’t want you to step out but I do want to see them.”

 

“I’ll give them a time limit,” he said, kissing the back of my hand before turning to go.

 

“Make sure you duck when you say that,” I called after him.

 

A moment later Tyler, Pete and Trent were there, swarming my bed. “Broken ribs? You crazy little thing,” Trent said, looking like he wanted to hug me and choke me at the same time.

 

I shrugged. “Everything was perfect, there was just an accident.”

 

“Yeah, an accident in agreeing to the spot,” Pete said, looking cranky.

 

“Oh, shut up,” I said, rolling my eyes.

 

Tyler sat next to me on the bed and pulled down the covers, eyeing my taped ribs critically. I glared at him, daring him to say something. Showing his intelligence, Tyler just pulled the covers back up.

 

When the UK boys left a few minutes later I was both relieved and surprised when Tye came back in.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

“Hey, I thought you’d head out and get some rest.”

“I’m not leaving until you do,” Tye said.

“Tye, come on, that’s not necessary.”

“No, it is,” he countered immediately.

We were quiet for a moment and I waited for him to speak, slightly shocked by his sharp tone. Looking at him standing there I realized how much I did miss him. How badly I wanted his arms back around me.

“Look," Tye began. "I have never been so scared in all my life when I saw you take that bump and not move after it. When you reached for me and I could tell you were scared and hurting and I couldn’t do anything about it. I, I’m not leaving, okay?” He said, his eyes locked on mine, his eyes red with unshed tears.

I could feel my own eyes burn but instead of trying to hide it I just let them fall.

“Are you in pain?” he asked.

I shook my head no and closed my eyes for second. “Not physically.”

“What is it? Do you…do you want me to leave? Do you want one of the boys back here to stay the night instead of me?” I could hear Tye’s voice crack and he cleared his throat, trying to cover it up.

“No, and that’s the problem Tye." I sighed and looked at my hands resting on top of my blanket.  "I hate you for what happened. But I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t miss you. And I hate it because I hate you for doing what you did. It’s…confusing.”

“Does it help if I say I hate me too for what happened?”

I let out a short laugh then winced, grabbing my ribs.

A nurse came in and smiled at us. “Mr. Dillinger, you still insisting on staying?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, firmly.

I looked at the nurse and shrugged. “He’s stubborn.”

She laughed. “I’ll have them bring in a cot for you to rest on. Ms. Hyde, you’ll be discharged in the morning, okay?”

I nodded.  After they brought in a cot for Tye and he was situated the nurse turned off my room light. I leaned back into the pillows, trying to get comfortable. Knowing Tye was two feet from me felt strange. We’d never been so close and so far at the same time.

I could hear a phone vibrate and Tye answered it, keeping his voice low. “Yeah, yeah I’m still here with her. Yeah, she’ll be going home tomorrow. I don’t know…I’ll ask her. Okay, goodnight.”

“Who was on the phone?” I asked.

“My sister, apparently all our family is backstage shouting at Hunter and she didn’t believe his update that you were okay. Your mom said she’d be here first thing.”

“What did you have to ask me?”

“Oh, Rylee wants to know if she’s allowed to come see you.”

I smiled and turned my head to look at him. “Yeah, she can come see me. Why wouldn’t she be allowed?”

“Well, according to Rylee, her uncle Tye, is, and I quote, a big poppy headed butt face for making you sad.”

“Well, I’d have to agree with Rylee. You are a big poopy headed butt face.”

Tye laughed and the sound made my stomach do flips.

“I missed that,” I admitted.

“What?”

“You laughing.”

“Yeah, I missed it too. But I missed you more.”

“I missed you Tye.”

“Is it, insane and selfish of me to ask if we try again?" He laughed slightly. "Of course I pick the most romantic setting to pin my hopes on this. But is it okay? If I can have another chance at making you happy?”

“Might be a little insane given the timing,” I said, keeping my voice light, so he’d know I was teasing him.

“But not impossible?” Tye asked, his voice edging onto hopeful.

“Not impossible,” I admitted. I could feel my eyes watering again and when I wiped them Tye saw me. He was out of the cot in a flash and to my side.

“Aw, I’m a fucking asshole,” he said. “I knew I shouldn’t have brought it up,” his hand going to my cheek. “I’m sorry, okay, no more serious talk tonight, okay?”

I put my hand over his and let myself feel the heat of him. “One more serious thing, okay?” I asked.

He nodded, waiting.

“You said…you said you didn’t fuck her. That’s true, right?”

Tye’s eyes flashed a little but he swallowed and nodded.

“Then…can we…shit, I don’t know Tye. I miss you. I hate missing you but I do. And I don’t know if I can trust you but I want to again.”

“Are you saying what I think you are?” Tye asks.

I laugh lightly, feeling the tears falling down my face. “I don’t know what I’m saying so if you could clue me in I’d appreciate it.”

Tye leaned down and put his forehead on mine, holding me close to him. “Are you saying I’m the luckiest bastard ever? That you’ll give me another chance?”

My heart was beating faster but, thankfully, not enough to alert the nurses. I nodded slowly, my hands gripping his forearms tightly. Tye let out a small laugh and kissed me quickly. His hands were shaking and he kept his forehead on mine as he pulled back from the kiss.

“I swear, on my life, I won’t fuck up again.”

I squeezed his hand and we stayed up most of the night, talking. The nurses tried to make me rest and eventually, when they threatened to give me sleeping pills, Tye and I agreed to go to sleep. He kept my hand in his, the cot pushed directly next to my bed now.

 


	13. Back Again

 

The next morning, after I was released, Tye drove me home so I could shower. He’d called everyone, both families, and arranged to meet for lunch at a nearby restaurant. I was grateful that Takeover had been in Florida, I couldn’t have imagined traveling much farther than we already had.

When we got to the restaurant for lunch Rylee came rushing towards us. Tye scooped her up before she could make contact with my body. “Whoa, be careful there Rylee. Shanna is all banged up.”

“But you said she’s okay,” Rylee countered.

“I am okay, I just need to be careful,” I said, hugging her while she sat in Tye’s arms.

My family came next, hugging me carefully. I had to insist many times I was okay. My parents didn’t look convinced. Tye’s Mom looked happy to see me but wore the same expression as my own mother. Tye and I shared a look with each other, along with an eye roll about overprotective parents.

“So, anyone going to explain why Tye can’t stop smiling like an idiot?” my older brother said.

I looked at Tye who shrugged. “Cause your sister is too damn good for me but she still wants me to stick around.”

My older brother looked at me, then at Tye. He’d heard what happened, about our breakup. “Well, I’ll sleep okay knowing that she’s tougher than any of us and can kick your ass.”

That seemed to settle it for everyone and we got on with ordering food.

\--

Later that night Tye drove away after we’d said goodbye to both of our families at the airport. When we were on the highway I turned slightly in the passenger seat to face him. “Where are we headed?” I asked.

Tye looked at me briefly before turning his eyes back on the road. “I figured you’d want to go home,” he said.

“And I figured Sheriff misses you.”

Tye laughed. “My family was there last night. He’s probably spoiled rotten now.”

“Still,” I said, “you know you’d rather go to your place and check on him.”

“What would you rather do?”

“I’d rather not worry about Sheriff,” I said.

Tye laughed and took the exit that would lead to his house.

\--

Sheriff wouldn’t stop barking. Excited little yips escaping him as I held him. He yipped between licking my face. I laughed and hugged him, kissing his little head.  He wiggled so much I had to put him down. Tye grabbed the leash and we both walked outside so Sheriff could do his business. Tye took my hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

“Are you still sure?” Tye asked.

“About what?” I asked.

“This,” he said, shaking our joined hands lightly.

 

I took a deep breath and we stopped walking, Sheriff sitting politely at our feet. Tye looked at me, waiting for me to speak. “I’m scared shitless about this, okay? But I can’t pretend I don’t love you and I can’t sit around and pretend I don’t miss you. You promised me you didn’t sleep with her. That you kissed her, talked with her. I think I can accept that.”

 

Tye nodded, his hand squeezing mine. “But, if you lied about that. Or if anything happens again. That’ll be the end of it. For good. I’ve never given a second chance. Don’t make me regret it.”

 

"I won't," Tye said, shaking his head as he pulled me to him. I tucked my head, laying my cheek on his chest. "I promise, whatever it takes, I promise I won't make you regret this." He kissed my forehead then and I squeezed my arms tightly around him. 

 

Eventually, Sheriff got tired of us just standing there and he yipped at us.  We laughed, pulled apart and began walking back to the house. Once inside we walked into the kitchen. “Water?” Tye asked

“Sure,” I said, sitting at the kitchen table. Tye brought me a bottle of water and I smiled up at him. “You still full from lunch?” I asked.

“Yeah, probably won’t need dinner,” he said.

“Good, cause I couldn’t eat another bite,” I said. Tye smiled and stood behind my chair, his hands going to my shoulders.

“Are you sore?” he asked, his thumbs working small circles into the base of my neck. I groaned and nodded. “Are your ribs okay?” he asked.

I shrugged a little. “Do you want the medicine?” he asked. I shook my head no. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I hate that stuff. It makes me sleep.”

“How about a hot bath?” Tye said.  I groaned at the thought and he laughed.

“I’ll go run you a bath, okay?” he said, kissing the top of my head.

“Mhm, okay,” I said sighing as he moved away.

Tye disappeared upstairs and about five minutes later he came back down into the kitchen. “Let’s get you in the bath,” he said, taking my hand.

I stood and followed him upstairs, moving slowly. My ribs burned as I walked and when we got to the bathroom I sighed at the sight that met me. Tye had lit a few candles and the bath water looked and smelled like he’d dropped a lavender bath bomb. I could see it still dissipating in the water.

“What’s all this?” I said, motioning to the candles and bath bomb.

“Just wanted to treat you a little,” Tye said, smiling. He reached around the door and pulled out a fluffy black robe, much shorter than his. “Got you this, before…”

I smiled at him. “Thank you.” I gave him a quick kiss before turning back to look at the bath. “Do I still have clothes here?” I asked.

Tye laughed. “See, now I just look pathetic. Yes I still have them here. I’ll go get some of it for you,” he said. He was back a minute later with a pair of my sweatpants, a t-shirt and some underwear. I smiled at him and took the pile of clothes. “I’ll leave you to enjoy your bath,” he said, turning to go.

“You could stay and enjoy it too,” I said, keeping my voice low.

Tye stopped and turned to look at me. “You trying to tempt me?” He said, smirking.

I laughed.  "Oh yes, the bruising is so sexy." I said, motioning to my ribs.  Tye frowned and came over to me, gently covering my ribs with his hand. The warmth of his touch felt good.

“You sure you don’t want any medicine?” He asked, frowning.

“I’m sure,” I promised. “Help me with my t-shirt?” I asked.

Tye couldn’t stop the smirk that came to his lips. I rolled my eyes and lifted my hands up in the air and Tye gripped the bottom of my shirt and pulled it over my head for me. The lounge bra that Tyler had brought to the hospital for me, along with my clothes, was fortunately for me, one of the cuter if not most supportive ones I owned and Tye smirked when his eyes fell on it. “I love that you don’t feel the need to be dressed up 24/7, that you’d come home after the gym, shower and put something like this on to walk around the house in.”

I laughed. “You love that I walk around the house topless, you mean.”

He smirked and dipped his head, kissing my collar bone lightly before kissing my neck once lightly. I shivered at his touch, feeling my stomach turn to knots and my heart begin to race instantly.

“Dammit, Tye,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. I could feel him smile into my neck.

“Sorry, I just missed doing that,” he said quietly before stepping back. “Do you need more help?” he asked, the smirk back on his face.

I groaned, the tightness in my ribs bad enough with me trying to maneuver too much. Sighing I lifted my hands into the air again. “Behave yourself,” I said.

“Aw, that’s not fun,” Tye teased as he slid his hands under the elastic of the bra, pushing it up and off me slowly. I shivered as the air hit my bare skin and Tye, keeping his eyes on mine, cleared his throat before taking half a step back. “Pants?” he asked. I shrugged, resisting the urge to cover myself up. Tye had seen me naked plenty of times but, right now, being injured and recently reunited it felt new all over again.

Tye hooked his thumbs into the waistband of my sweatpants and he pushed them down, crouching to the floor. I placed a hand on his shoulder for balance as I took my feet out of them. Tye stood again and kept his eyes on me as I moved my hands to push my panties down until they slid down my legs.

Tye took my hand and led me over to the bathtub, helping me climb in carefully. I sunk down in the water slowly, Tye’s hand under my arm to help settle me without falling. Once I was submerged I sighed and leaned back against the tub. I looked up at Tye and smiled at him. “You joining me?” I asked.

Tye smirked and slowly removed his own clothes, something I was grateful for as I watched him. When his shirt was gone I was able to see the muscle there, a bit more pronounced than it had been before as he seemed to have lost some weight. When his pants joined mine on the floor I bit my lip and looked at him, not even trying to hide it.

“Staring at me?” he asked, unable to keep the smirk off his face as he climbed into the tub across from me. His legs, much longer than mine, spread out along the sides of the tub, his toes brushing my elbows.

“Can you blame me?” I asked, smiling at him.

“I guess it’s only fair,” he admitted, winking at me. I laughed and leaned back, closing my eyes as the warm water eased all of my aches. I shifted slightly to keep myself from sliding down and winced. Tye, who must have been watching me, hissed in sympathy pain for me.

“Come here,” he said.

I opened one eye and looked at him. He lifted his hands out of the water, opening his arms to me and leaning forward to help me shift. I leaned forward and once his hands got a hold on my shoulders he moved me through the water easily, carefully, until I was resting against him, my back against his chest. When his hands found my shoulders again and began to massage them carefully I groaned. I could feel my body reacting to Tye and was grateful we were in the bath water as I leaned into his ministrations.

My skin tingled everywhere he touched and I could feel my heart racing at the simplest of motions as he washed my hair and body for me. I was like deadweight leaning against him, my eyes closed as small moans escaped my lips.

Tye’s hands slid down my torso and he rubbed the soap over my legs carefully, teasingly.

“You enjoying torturing me to death, Mr. Dillinger?”

Tye let out a small laugh and he let the bar of soap go, his hands instead coming to my left hip and right thigh. His fingers kneaded the skin at these points and I groaned, my back arching slightly.

“I believe this actually qualifies as torture,” he whispered in my ear. I whimpered as his hand slipped higher on my thigh but didn’t touch where I needed it most.

“Tye,” I sighed, looking up at him. He ducked his head to kiss me and I kissed him back with as much force as I could muster, my body weak from everything it had gone through in the last few days. Tye’s fingers found my clit and I jumped, groaning at the pleasure and the pain my movement caused. Tye pinned my hips back against him with his free hand and I felt his length hard against my ass.

“Tye, what about you?” I asked as I pulled out of the kiss.

“Let me make you feel good, we’ve gotta get back to the stadium for the show tonight,” he mumbled against my lips, his fingers quickening slightly against me. I whimpered and reached back, wrapping an arm around his neck and holding on to him tightly as he brought me to orgasm, my body shivering in the water as I whimpered against Tye.

After a few moments of resting against Tye I turned slowly to face him and before he could object I took his length in my hand, pumping slowly.

“Shanna, you don’t have to,” he groaned as his body tensed under my touch.

“I want to,” I whispered, moving carefully so I could move my hand slightly faster. Tye groaned again and his eyes fell shut. I leaned down and kissed his chest and up to his neck and Tye shifted his weight slightly, pulling me closer to him.

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” he whispered.

“How is that?” I asked.

“Do you know how badly I want to be inside you?” He groaned. I smirked at him and crawled forward, positioning my knees on either side of his lap.

“Shanna…baby I don’t want to hurt you,” he choked out as the tip of him brushed against my entrance.

“So don’t hurt me. Be slow about it, move carefully. I’ve missed this too much.”

“Are you…” Tye’s voice stopped working as I sank down slowly onto his length, his hands immediately going to my hips to still them.

“I’m not going to break in half, Tye,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“You almost did,” he said, brushing my hair off my face and pulling me close to him. “I lost you then you were hurt in front of me. And now,” he shivered as I rotated my hips carefully, forcing myself not to wince as my body protested.

“And now I’m here and I’m okay,” I insisted.

His lips found mine, needy and fierce, balancing the slow carefulness below the water. My body demanded more movement and I ignored the fire in my ribs as I controlled the pace. Tye groaned into the kiss, his right hand trying to slow my hips down.

"Shanna," he gasped, pulling from the kiss.

I shook my head, wincing slightly. "No, Tye. Please," I begged, shifting my hips again.

"Fuck," he whispered, looking down through the water at where we joined. He groaned, the sound more guttural than I'd ever heard come from him before. I shivered and pushed my hips forward, a pain shooting through me just as Tye brushed against the spot inside me that made me see stars for another reason. I groaned, the pleasure overtaking the pain and kept moving.

 

Tye's breathing was shallow but he was forcing himself to not hurt me as he moved carefully, the restraint evident in his tight muscles.

When Tye came he bit my shoulder lightly, his body shaking as I found my second release. We let the water start to cool before finally getting out of the tub together. We got dressed in new clothes slowly before heading back out into the world, back to the arena to watch the show of shows.

 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14: Wrestlemania

 

 

When Tye and I walked into the arena that night, hand in hand, knowing smiles were all around. The biggest smile came from Hunter who, upon hearing I was there, came to check on me.

“You scared us last night,” he whispered as he hugged me carefully.

“I’m okay, Hunter. It happens. And it did what we wanted it to do. The reaction from the fans was what we wanted,” I said as Hunter looked at me, proudly.

“You’re right. I know that Nikki has been running around looking for you, wanting to check up on you. I need to talk to Tye about something so why don’t you go find her and check in? She’s blaming herself somehow.”

I nodded and Tye kissed my cheek before he walked off to meet with Hunter. I smiled, having an idea what it would be about.

When I found Nikki she surprised me by hugging me fiercely and apologizing profusely. I laughed and looked at her. “It’s okay, really. Accidents happen. It had nothing to do with you.”

“Yeah, I know. It was just scary seeing you not move,” she said.

I shrugged. “We played it off well.”

She nodded. “Fans loved it,” she said, waving at Killian Dane who nodded politely at me as he passed. “How is Tye?” She asked.

I looked at her, not having been prepared for the question. “He’s okay, he’s talking to Hunter now.”

“Time for his call up?” She asked.

I nodded. “I think so. I’m sure they’ll want to close out the storyline but I think he’s debuting tomorrow or Tuesday.”

She nodded. “You gonna be okay with that?”

I nodded, a smile on my lips. “We’re okay now. Different schedules will be hard but it’ll be worth it.”

“Who would’ve thought that all we needed to do to get you two back together would be to put you through a table,” she teased. We laughed together and I knew that I wasn’t lying when I said it’d be worth it.

\--

An hour later Tye found me in catering with Jose and Roderick, both of whom asked every five minutes if I was still okay. Tye came over and kissed the top of my head while standing behind my chair.

“I see you guys have taken over my line of questioning,” he said.

They laughed and I turned to look at him, expectantly, waiting for the news.

“Guys, can I talk to Shanna?” he asked.

They nodded and stood, shaking hands with Tye and kissing my cheek before walking away. Tye took Roderick’s abandoned seat and scooted it closer to me, taking my hands in his.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Hunter and I just talked, he had to ask me something.”

“Okay…” I said, waiting, my smile growing.

“They want me on Smackdown.”

I squealed and leaned forward, ignoring the burn in my ribs, as I hugged Tye. He laughed and hugged me back, carefully.

“So are you starting this week?” I asked, as I pulled back.

“That depends,” he said.

“On what?”

“You.”

“Me? What do you mean?” I asked, feeling my throat tighten.

Tye sighed and pulled my hands back into his and focused on them, as if they were fascinating. I waited for him to speak, letting him gather his thoughts.

“Shanna…” I squeezed his hands, hoping to encourage him.

“I don’t want to mess us up,” he started. “I’m afraid to go to Smackdown and lose you again because we won’t be together all the time…”

I frowned and released his hands, reaching out and taking his face in my hands.

“You listen to me, Dillinger.” I said, making my voice more serious. “This is your dream. Has been your dream since before you knew me. You are not going to mess up your dream because you’re worried about distance. We both knew things like this could happen when we started dating. It’s part of our careers.”

“What if—”

“No, no what ifs. No doubts. You belong on the main roster Tye. You can’t give that up for me. I won’t let you.”

Tye’s voice was tight with emotion when he spoke again. “I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You won’t,” I said. “Tye, I wouldn’t decide to be with you if I didn’t think we could handle anything. I knew last night when we talked that today you might get called up.

“You did?”

I laughed. “Tye, Hunter and Regal have had your back for so many years. The fans love you. Of course it was going to happen. I mean, between NXT and Royal Rumble of course you were getting called up.”

Tye smiled slightly and put his hands on my face, pulling me closer to him so that our foreheads were touching. “You‘re sure you’re okay with this?”

“Of course I am. I’ll miss you, yeah, but we can deal with that.”

He smiled, a true smile then and kissed me. I kissed him back and we hugged, the excitement in Tye’s body radiating off of him.

\--

It was Tuesday night after Wrestlemania. I was backstage at Smackdown, waiting. Tye and I had parted ways fifteen minutes ago so he could have time to himself to gather his thoughts and get ready for his debut.

I stood holding hands with Becky backstage, looking at a monitor. Curt Hawkins was in the ring and when he said the line that was Tye’s cue I took in a deep breath as his music hit.

It was loud…very loud. The crowd was screaming, cheering. People were jumping up and down. The ten chants filled the arena. Tye’s match with Curt was flawless. Tye picked up the win. I clapped and cheered. When he came back he interviewed quickly about his debut and I could see the emotion building up in his eyes.

I bit my lip and watched as he finished the interview and, after shaking the hands he needed to shake, he came right to me and wrapped me in his arms, hugging me tightly.

I smiled and kissed his cheek, forehead and lips, squeezing him tightly. “It was perfect,” I whispered.

He kept his head buried in my shoulder and I knew he needed a minute so we stayed still while he collected himself, his hands clutching the back of my shirt as his breathing evened out. When he pulled back to look at me his eyes were a little red but a smile was on his face.

“I can’t believe it finally happened,” he said.

I smiled and smoothed his hair out. “I’m proud of you.”

His smile grew and he kissed me. Despite the road ahead of us I knew one thing was certain, we were in it together.


	15. Epilogue

The night of Tye’s last match on NXT I sat in the back, my legs bouncing nervously as I watched. It was a cage match. I stood in the gorilla with Kassius and Roderick as Tye and Eric fought back and forth. Tye was almost out of the cage, crawling to the door, when SAnitY ran down. Nikki jumped on the referee’s back as Dain and Wolfe closed the door in Tye’s face.

That was our cue.

The three of us ran down. I went for Nikki and the guys took care of the others. Dain made his way into the cage as Tye climbed to the top. He launched himself off the top of the cage, crashing onto Dain and Young.  I held onto Nikki on the outside as Wolfe tried climbing in. Tye saw him coming and crawled out of the cage door and to victory.

He locked the cage door behind him as the bell rang.  Tye celebrated with the fans, Kassius, Roderick and I clapped on the ring ramp and when Tye came back over to us he kissed me quickly before Kassius and Roderick lifted him on their shoulders. The thank you Tye chants started and I cheered along, clapping with the fans. Roderick and Kassius were chanting ten as well as the show went off air. They lowered Tye and as the thank you Tye chants continued he ran his hands over his face.

As he turned to walk up the ramp he stopped, seeing as the entire locker room had begun clearing out and everyone was there, clapping for him. The fans roared their approval as Kassius, Roderick and I stood next to the rest of the locker room and cheered as well.

I felt my throat tighten with emotion as I watch Tye look around the NXT arena and take in the fans and peers cheering for him. As he got to the top of the ramp he hugged Regal who pulled him into a tight embrace, whispering in Tye’s ear.

Triple H slid out from the back of the crowd and took the next hug, also whispering in Tye’s ear. Tye nodded and they slapped each other’s backs a few times and I had to wipe the tears from my eyes.

Tye came over to me and hugged me into his side and I laughed, trying to bow out and let him have his moment in the sun but he held me tightly.

“No, I want you next to me, for everything.” I smiled up at him and he stole a quick kiss before we left the stage and went behind the curtain. The thank you Tye chants continued to echo and I was able to slip beneath his arm and shove him back out for one more bow, a thank you and a ten pose.

\--

It was months after his call-up and Tye’s career was climbing steadily. The distance, while difficult, wasn’t completely unmanageable. While he was away I spent most of my time at Tye’s so I could take care of Sheriff and, on the nights I was at my own place, Sheriff came along.

It was three AM when I heard the front door open. I jumped up from Tye’s bed and Sheriff did too. I grabbed the baseball bat I kept by the bed when I was there alone and was about to tense and get ready to swing when Sheriff let out a happy yip and ran down the stairs.

That was the bark he saved just for Tye.

 

Sighing in relief I went down the stairs and smiled at Tye from the bottom step. He stood up and smiled at me, happy to see me but groaning apologetically.

“I’m sorry love, I wasn’t going to wake you if I could help it,” he said.

I shrugged and stepped down off the step and wrapped myself around Tye as he dropped his bag and held me close.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“Missed you too,” I whispered into his chest. He ran his hand over my hair and down my back, rubbing slow circles.

“Let’s get back to bed,” Tye said, smiling at me. I nodded and we made our way upstairs and into the bedroom and I was back under the covers quickly, smiling when Tye, who had changed from his travel clothes to a pair of pajama bottoms, slid in next to me. Immediately I curled into his side and we fell asleep together, Sheriff curled at our feet.

\--

The next few days of Tye being home were great and on his last night home we went out to dinner together, Tye insisting he owed me a nice night out before he was on the road again. I smiled and relented, letting Tye dote on me a little. I had tried over the last couple months to remind him that it wasn’t’ necessary every time he came home but he did not listen.

As we sat at the restaurant together we talked and laughed, Tye’s hand holding mine across the table, his thumb running over my knuckles absently as we waited for our dinner.

“You know I couldn’t have done any of this without you,” he said, his voice soft.

I smiled and shook my head. “You could have, it just wouldn’t have been half as much fun,” I winked.

“No, I’m serious. You gave me the boost I needed to be able to get where I needed to be, to work better, to get the call-up.”

I pulled his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles, smiling at him from across the table. “You could’ve done it. I’m just glad we were in it together,” I said, squeezing his hand. He smiled and we let our hands drift apart as our food was set down in front of us.

We ate our meals and I couldn’t help but smile every time we locked eyes, especially as Tye would often wink or wiggle his eyebrows at me, always willing to make me smile even as he tried to eat his meal. When we finished I sat back, trying to not glare as he paid the bill and he laughed at the expression on my face, knowing I hated the money he was spending despite how good our food had been.

“Come on, beautiful,” he said, offering me his hand. “Let’s go for a walk.” I smiled and put my hand in his and felt warmth spread through me as he laced his fingers through mine.

Once outside the restaurant we walked along the beautiful street and I smiled at all the couples and families out, walking together and enjoying the perfect Florida night air.

Tye pointed at things he knew I’d like to see, whether it was a dog or something cute in a shop window and he held himself proudly as we walked, practically showing me off as we walked which made me laugh and hide against him.

“Oh, come on, let me show you off,” he teased. I shook my head and looped my arm through his, keeping him firmly at my side.

He chuckled at that and as we continued to walk I looked around, recognizing the area.

“Isn’t around here where we went for Becky’s birthday?” I asked.

Tye stopped and looked around then nodded, smiling. “The night that changed everything,” he said, winking at me. I laughed as he took my hand and began walking quickly and I realized he was leading towards the dance club. Keeping pace and relieved I was in my comfortable heels we walked to the club, a long line around the side of the place. He diverted around the side of the building and we stepped into the parking lot and I giggled as he looked around, muttering to himself before positioning me to stand before him.

“What are you doing Tye?” I asked, laughing.

“Right here,” he said, smiling at me. “Right here is where we almost kissed,” he said, standing before me.

I smiled and looked around, noting that the location was probably as close to exact as we could be. “You mean before all of our drunk friends came out and ruined it?” I laughed.

He laughed and smiled, nodding. “Yeah, and I was so mad. I’d almost had you and it was gone but then, when you said I could come over I swear I couldn’t believe my luck.”

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I couldn’t either,” I said, feeling my smile grow.

“I know that things in our business are never guaranteed and I know that I’m lucky to have you in my life, despite how I nearly ruined it,” he said, his voice serious.

I frowned, the faint echo of pain in my chest beating to life for a moment before it faded as he held my hands to his lips.

“I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have you and now that I do I don’t plan on ever letting you go,” he said, smiling at me.

I laughed. “It’d be hard to get rid of me since I practically live at your place,” I teased.

He smiled and brushed hair from my face. “Why don’t you?” he asked.

I laughed. “What?” I asked as his smile grew.

“Sell your place, move in,” he said.

“Tye,” I started, feeling my stomach fill with butterflies and my heart race.

“I know its fast and I know we’ve been through hell but when I come home to you it is the greatest feeling. I hate that you pay for your place when you’re never there because you’re taking care of my house and Sheriff. I don’t ever want to come home and not have you there. Your lease is up in a month and I’m back in two weeks…why don’t we spend that weekend moving you in?”

I stared at him, feeling my smile grow. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“More than I’ve ever been in my life.”

I smiled and nodded, feeling my eyes burn slightly with happy tears. “Okay, two weeks we’ve got a moving date,” I said.

He smiled and pulled me to him, kissing me lightly before pulling back and going into his pocket. He pulled out a small box and I stared at him, my breath disappearing.

“Guess you’ll need this then,” he said, smiling. He opened the box and inside was a key on a keychain and I could see despite the dim lighting in the lot, there was an inscription there. I took it from the box and held the keychain to the light so I could read the letters there.

_For my Perfect 10, for our Perfect house and for our Perfect future._

I smiled and kissed him as he spun me around in his arms. When he set me down on the concrete I balanced on my heels, still wrapped tightly around him.

“And some day,” he whispered, his voice full of promise. “There will be a ring worthy of my future perfect wife.”

“All you need to do is ask,” I replied as my heart raced.

He smiled as he held me, our foreheads resting against each other’s. “Soon,” he promised. I nodded and as he kissed me I knew, without a doubt, that I was in the arms of my future husband. And, that despite everything, life had really turned out _Perfect._


End file.
